New Hope for IPF Patients: Breakthrough Treatment Discovered

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal lung disease with no current cure, causing lung tissue to harden and leading to respiratory failure. Patients typically do not survive beyond three years post-diagnosis. Recent research has identified a gene responsible for tissue hardening, and the cancer drug Gleevec has been found to deactivate this gene in mice. IPF affects 5 million people globally.

What discovery have researchers made regarding the gene related to IPF?

How many people are affected by idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis?