A cancer drug available on the NHS could treat an incurable lung disease that plagues more than 30,000 Britons
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) occurs when scar tissue builds up in the lungs, causing the walls to stiffen and making it difficult to breathe.
The condition primarily affects older adults and leads to a persistent cough, fatigue, weight loss and muscle aches. Symptoms rapidly worsen, and its cause is unknown.
Though the scarring can be managed by medications such as antifibrotics, average life expectancy once IPF sets in is just three to five years.
However, a group of American scientists claim a cancer drug already used by the Health Service can reverse damage caused by the condition.
Ipilimumab blocks the CTLA-4 protein – which suppresses the immune system – to allow the body to better recognise and attack diseased cells.
The protein has also been proven to contribute towards lung scarring by negating fibroblast cells, which repair damaged tissue.
In IPF sufferers, fibroblasts do not function properly.
But ipilimumab can also be administered to aid lung-tissue regeneration, a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation reveals.
Mice that received the drug intravenously showed much-improved lung-repair ability and recovered faster than those not on the medication.
'This opens up an entirely new direction for potential treatment of IPF,' says lead author Dr Santu Yadav, assistant professor of medicine at the Tulane University School of Medicine.
The researchers are hopeful the same 'immune-rejuvenating' approach could also be used to treat Alzheimer's and heart disease.
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