Scientists uncover genetic risk factor for pulmonary fibrosis

Researchers appear to have uncovered a genetic risk factor for pulmonary fibrosis

US researchers have uncovered a genetic risk factor for the development of pulmonary fibrosis, potentially paving the way for new treatments to target the disease.

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study involved CT scans of more than 2,600 people who did not have a formal diagnosis of the lung condition.

The team found imaging evidence of lung inflammation and scarring in around nine per cent of candidates over the age of 50.

Within this age group, the abnormal findings on the CT scans were more common among the 21 per cent of participants with the MUC5B genetic variant.

Definite lung fibrosis was strongly linked to the gene and even in abnormalities that did not suggest the disease would progress, there remained an association with shortness of breath and coughing.  

The findings suggest the condition may be potentially predicted on the basis of the MUC5B genetic variant.