Pulmonary Fibrosis Clinical Trials

Lung disease is any problem in the lungs that prevents the lungs from working properly and can affect anyone. It affects men, women, children, smokers, ex-smokers and never smokers, all of whom are equally worthy of care and support.

There are three main types of lung disease, including:

• Airway diseases: These diseases, such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), affect the airways that carry oxygen and other gases into and out of the lungs. They usually cause a narrowing or blockage of the airways.

• Lung tissue diseases: These diseases, such as Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), affect the structure of the lung tissue. Scarring or inflammation of the tissue makes the lungs unable to expand fully (restrictive lung disease). This makes it hard for the lungs to take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide.

• Lung circulation diseases: These diseases, such as Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), affect the blood vessels in the lungs. They are caused by clotting, scarring, or inflammation of the blood vessels. They affect the ability of the lungs to take up oxygen and release carbon dioxide.

Symptoms of lung disease tend to creep up slowly and people often put the symptoms down to aging or lack of fitness. This leads to many automatically adjusting their daily activities to accommodate or reduce their symptoms rather than getting help.

Common symptoms include:

• A new, persistent or changed cough

• Coughing up mucus, phlegm or blood

• Get breathless more easily than others your age

• Experience chest tightness or wheeze

• Have frequent chest infections

• Experience chest pain, fatigue

• Experience sudden weight loss

Lung disease treatments vary by your specific condition, however they revolve around 3 main ideas:

1. Quit smoking

2. Stay active and healthy

3. Rehabilitation

There may also be medicines available to slow your disease progression. Oxygen therapy may also be prescribed to assist with shortness of breath and help you keep active.

In some cases, lung transplant surgeries may need to be considered depending on other health conditions.

For many lung diseases, there is no current cure available.

Early treatment is important to help improve how you feel, keep your condition well managed, and maintain normal lung function.

Researchers are constantly searching for better treatments and potential cures. HealthMatch helps you find potential clinical trials you can contribute to today.

A clinical trial is a scientific study involving patient or non-patient (healthy) human volunteers. They help determine whether medicines are safe and effective to introduce as new treatments for a particular disease or condition. 

HealthMatch matches you to clinical trials, in an easy-to-understand process. 

After completing a medical questionnaire, our platform searches for and filters eligible trials for you. You’re able to view matches and apply for trials, on your trial dashboard. 

We’ll put you in direct contact with the trial group once you’ve been accepted. We won’t stop searching until we’ve found you the right match.