Dangerous lung fibrosis more deadly than cancer

Insidious pulmonary fibrosis: More deadly than many forms of cancer

01/11/2014

Although lung fibrosis is more deadly than many cancers, many people are unaware of the dangerous lung disease. In the course of this disease, the lungs can no longer provide the body with oxygen. The causes of pulmonary fibrosis are still unknown.

Causes of the disease unknown
The „Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic and ultimately fatal lung disease whose cause is unknown“, it says on the website „lungenfibrose.de“. There, patients and their relatives have joined forces to promote this disease. To bring the Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis into the public consciousness, is also likely in the interest of a recent contribution of „Focus Online“ his. In this the experts Prof. Dr. med. Jürgen Behr and Prof. dr. Oliver Eickelberg, both on the board of „AtemWeg: Foundation for the Study of Lung Diseases“ are, the topic.

Even many doctors know little about it
In patients with IPF, connective tissue is increasingly formed in the lungs, stiffening the organ, and can eventually provide the body with less and less oxygen. As a rule, those affected are around the age of 65 and half of them die three years after being diagnosed. As stated in the article, Europe is predicting 35,000 new cases a year, and rising. Even if you know that smoking, harmful dust, reflux or a family predisposition increase the risk, the exact causes are still unclear. Since even many doctors are unaware of the disease, valuable time often elapses in the diagnosis.

Medicine has little to oppose
Progressive respiratory distress is a typical symptom of pulmonary fibrosis. First, it occurs only under load, later also at rest. Patients also often suffer from prolonged tiredness, low resilience and a constant dry cough. In rare cases, mild fever and, in the advanced stage of the disease, visible skin changes and finger pain may occur. Another complication of the disease is pulmonary hypertension, which burdens the heart. So far, medicine has little to offer against the disease. Partly because IPF is hardly known to the public.

IPF kills more people than leukemia
The dangerous lung disease is more deadly than many cancers. Like the authors of the „Focus“-A recent colleague, Toby Maher, has written on the news page „BBC News“ his helplessness made air and provocatively asked: „Cancer gets too much attention?“ The expert estimates that lung disease kills more people in Britain each year than leukemia. Nevertheless, the care of patients with IPF is significantly worse and there would be only a fraction of research funding available. As he writes, some of his patients wished they had cancer.

Significantly less research funding provided
IPF is less well received in Germany than blood cancer. According to the authors, this is shown by the following example: In Germany, the German Research Foundation (DFG) is the most important institution for promoting science. For the year 2012, it approved about 15 million euros for the study of leukemia, for 2013 it was even 16 million euros. On the other hand, considerably fewer funds were spent on IPF research: The DFG approved around 400,000 euros for 2012 and only 300,000 euros for 2013. However, as the authors write, far fewer applications have been made for IPF research because there are comparatively few professorships and specialist clinics in the field of pneumology at German universities.

Every citizen can contribute
It also states that all citizens can contribute by, for example, signing a new European IPF Patients' Charter, which among other things underlines the right of all patients to early diagnosis, comprehensive education and the best therapy. It also calls for better access to palliative care. A new Munich initiative also wants to focus more on lung disease in general (for example, asthma or smoker cough). The city's major specialist medical clinics, together with the AtemWeg Foundation, call all citizens in the context of the so-called „FACTS donor campaign“ to actively engage in strengthening cause research, diagnosis and therapy.

Research can help everyone
Those who attend will do a free and painless lung function test, give a saliva sample and fill in a questionnaire. The results will be communicated immediately and then evaluated in anonymous form. The study is said to be accompanied by an ethics committee and an international scientific panel. Until December 2014, the tests will be offered on mobile health stands in the Bavarian state capital. The scientists involved hope for a total of 10,000 FAKTEN donors. The foundation also hopes to receive donations. As it says in the article, the use is worthwhile because lung diseases can affect anyone, but only with good research can all be helped. (Ad)