This week on Health Matters, Tarah Schwartz and Dr. Deborah Assayag discusses Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) and helping patients breathe as comfortably as possible.
(Time on podcast: 0:45) ILDs are a group of diseases that affect the lung characterized by inflammation of the lung tissue, This inflammation can then to scarring, which we call fibrosis. Patients with ILD get more and more short of breath, suffer from cough, and over time, the quality of life really becomes impaired. Daily activities such as walking to the bathroom can become very difficult for patients. Because it is a progressive disease, the lifespan of patients with ILD can be dramatically shortened. There is a specialized ILD clinic at the MUHC that sees and manages these patients. A multidisciplinary team then helps identify the best diagnosis and management for these patients. Until fairly recently, there were no good medications for ILDs. Because of research, there are now a number of new medications that help either treat the inflammation in the lung or the lung scarring. Unfortunately, none of the medications actually reverse the diseases, but rather slow the progression of the disease.
Listen to the Podcast
Promising new treatments for severe COVID-19. The MUHC Foundation’s Health Matters. June 12, 2022.
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