Medical Centers Launch Registry to Track Deadly Lung Disease
Six Pennsylvania medical centers are taking part in a new patient registry that will track the deadly lung disease Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF).
Medical centers taking part in the state registry are:
- Dorothy P. & Richard P. Simmons Center (Pittsburgh)
- Temple Lung Center (Philadelphia)
- University of Pennsylvania Health System (Philadelphia)
- Geisinger Health System (Danville)
- Geisinger Health System (Wilkes Barre)
- Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (Hershey)
The registry—the first of its kind for lung diseases in the United States—may improve research of and access to care for patients suffering from IPF.
IPF, which affects five million people worldwide and usually leads to death within five years of diagnosis, attacks the air sacs of the lungs, causing progressive scarring and labored breathing. It has no proven treatment.
Causes include:
- Occupational and environmental exposure to asbestos
- Metal dust
- Farming chemicals and mold
- Sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease
- Radiation
- Drug reactions
- Autoimmune disorders
- Genetic predisposition
For more information, go to the registry’s website or call toll free (866) 922-4IPF.
Last Updated: 12/28/2007