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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Is Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis?

have a friend diagnosed with IPF. He is 87 yrs old in fairly good health with exception of diagnosis 3 yrs ago with IPF. He does have GERD, has been taking medication daily for that for 10 yrs. we live in small town Enterprise, AL, with limited access to pulmonary center. I remember watching a medical channel/;program diagnose me, or similar program on 23, 24 or 25 Jul 2017....a Japanese doctor had a patient he cured over course of 6 months with specific antibiotics....the patient underwent lung biopsy, revealing she had 3 or 4 types of mold types growing in her lung...called it Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis...I have not been able to locate that medical documentary or special, if you will help me with this, a life could be prolonged. thank you, Jane Ammon YYYY@YYYY
Thu, 30 Nov 2017
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Pulmonologist,  's  Response
Thanks for your question on Healthcare Magic.
I can understand your concern.
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis and IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis) are different lung diseases with different etiology and prognosis.
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is caused by chronic exposure to allergen or organism.
So if we prevent exposure or give antibiotics to kill organism, we can cure hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
On the other side, IPF is chronic, progressive lung disease. In the this, lung parenchyma (tissue) is fibrosed and becomes inactive.
Till date, there is no cure to the revert this fibrosis.
So IPF is incurable and hence prognosis is very poor in IPF.
Hope I have solved your query. I will be happy to help you further. Wishing good health to your friend. Thanks.
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What Is Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis?

Thanks for your question on Healthcare Magic. I can understand your concern. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis and IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis) are different lung diseases with different etiology and prognosis. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is caused by chronic exposure to allergen or organism. So if we prevent exposure or give antibiotics to kill organism, we can cure hypersensitivity pneumonitis. On the other side, IPF is chronic, progressive lung disease. In the this, lung parenchyma (tissue) is fibrosed and becomes inactive. Till date, there is no cure to the revert this fibrosis. So IPF is incurable and hence prognosis is very poor in IPF. Hope I have solved your query. I will be happy to help you further. Wishing good health to your friend. Thanks.