From epidemiology and pathogenesis to disease management, this book reviews our current understanding of and provides up-to-date information of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). A subtype of Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonias (IIP), IPF is one of the most elusive and intractable respiratory disease to date and its triggering factors remain unclear. However, new developments such as serum markers that are highly specific to IPF (i.e. KL-6, SP-A, and SP-D), the establishment of systematic diagnostic imaging (HRCT) and accumulated reports of treatment using an antifibrotic agent (pirfenidone) are slowly improving our understanding of the disease. Edited by an established authority in the field and written by experts, this book will be valuable to not only to beginning learners but also to physicians, instructors and researchers whose work involves IIPs. With each chapter exploring critical questions, with unresolved issues and future prospects, the book offers a valuable resource for understanding issues such as the newly proposed entity of interstitial pneumonia with emphysema (combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema: CPFE) and the mechanism of how so many IIP sufferers develop lung cancer.
