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What is the progression, how fast, what changes. Prognosis?

By Anonymous February 13, 2012 - 2:42pm
 
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Guide

According to the National Institutes of Health,Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis ( IPF) is a condition in which over a period of time the lung tissue becomes thickened, stiff, and scarred.

In some people the disease gets worse quickly (over months to a few years), but other people have little worsening of the disease over time.

The development of the scar tissue is called fibrosis. As the lung tissue becomes scarred and thicker, the lungs lose their ability to transfer oxygen into the bloodstream. As a result, the brain and other organs don't get the oxygen they need.

Some patients may improve when they are treated with corticosteroids or cytotoxic drugs, but in most people the disease can get worse even with treatment. This worsening can happen quickly, or very slowly.

Maryann

February 13, 2012 - 5:47pm
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