1. Dyspnoea with progressive 'idiopathic' pulmonary fibrosis
- Author
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Vignesh Harish, Chahat Puri, Kyunghoon Rhee, and Donald Slack
- Subjects
Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Case Report ,Case Reports ,03 medical and health sciences ,Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis ,Telomerase RNA component ,Diseases of the respiratory system ,0302 clinical medicine ,Usual interstitial pneumonia ,Pulmonary fibrosis ,medicine ,Lung transplantation ,Telomerase reverse transcriptase ,interstitial lung disease ,RC705-779 ,business.industry ,Interstitial lung disease ,Pirfenidone ,medicine.disease ,short telomeres ,030228 respiratory system ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Cancer research ,Familial pulmonary fibrosis ,business ,medicine.drug - Abstract
Telomeres are repetitive nucleotide sequences that prevent chromosomal shortening in cell replication. Short telomeres have been implicated in the pathogenesis of interstitial lung disease. Patients with short telomere related pulmonary fibrosis can have computed tomography (CT) findings inconsistent with pro‐typical usual interstitial pneumonia/idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (UIP/IPF) pattern. They can have rapid progression and overall worse prognosis. Antifibrotic drugs, like pirfenidone, can be used to slow the progression of disease, but there is conflicting data in patients with Telomerase reverse transcriptase/Telomerase RNA component (TERT/TERC) mutations, hence genetic testing plays an important role in determining the therapeutic options. These patients should be referred for lung transplantation early. We present a case of rapidly progressive pulmonary fibrosis associated with short telomere., Short telomeres have been associated with familial pulmonary fibrosis. Genetic testing is essential to determine therapeutic options and perform appropriate screening
- Published
- 2021