Setback in treatment for IPF patients.

• Position: Lung Function - Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis - Brief article

A common antioxidant had no effect on lung function compared to a placebo in patients with a chronic, progressive respiratory disease, according to research led by Weill Cornell Medical College and the IPF Clinical Research Network. The findings on N-acetylcysteine are likely to prompt physicians to reconsider the best way to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable disease that often kills patients within a few years of diagnosis.

"There was no evidence that NAC slowed the progression of IPF or improved lung function, as measured by forced vital capacity, compared to placebo," says lead author Fernando Martinez, executive vice chair of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. "Further research is needed to evaluate current and future treatment approaches for this devastating disease."

IPF is characterized by thickening and scarring of the lungs. The scarring...