Cystic fibrosis drug gets FDA approval

By Dr Ananya Mandal, MD

A drug – the first of its kind – that treats the root cause of cystic fibrosis won approval Tuesday. This could be a ray of hope for patients with the deadly illness and broader hope for thousands more patients with the inherited disease.

About 30,000 Americans live with cystic fibrosis, a disease that causes sticky…

Loyola surgeons use new, less invasive catheter technique to treat cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis patient Daniel Sammons had undergone a successful double lung transplant at Loyola University Medical Center, but he still had one major health issue.

There was a severe narrowing in a large vein, called the superior vena cava, which returns blood to the heart from the head, neck and arms.

Sammons, 19, would turn purple when he sat or stood…

Cystic fibrosis drug shows promise in trial

By Dr Ananya Mandal, MD

The latest clinical trial in its later advanced stags found that oral drug ivacaftor (VX-77) provides major, sustained improvement in lung function, growth and other signs and symptoms for a subset of cystic fibrosis patients.

This came from a multisite study that marks the first time a drug has been shown to work on the…

Precise diagnostic algorithm for fibrosis in HCV patients reduces need for liver biopsy

A new classification for diagnosing fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus(HCV) has shown to be as accurate as currently used algorithms, but required no further liver biopsy. The study appearing in the January issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, details a method that synchronously combines…