Did you know that scarring (fibrosis) can affect different organs in the body, not just the lungs? The DEMISTIFI study is an exciting new research project that aims to understand what causes fibrotic diseases throughout the body, so that everyone affected has a better future.
Multi-organ fibrosis
We talk a lot about pulmonary fibrosis (lung scarring) but scarring occurs in other conditions too, including diabetes (pancreas), high blood pressure (blood vessels), chronic kidney conditions (kidney), and cirrhosis (liver). People can also be affected by fibrosis in more than one organ at the same time, known as multi-organ fibrosis.
The DEMISTIFI Study (DEfining MechanIsms Shared across mulTI-organ FIbrosis to prevent the development of long-term multi-morbidity) is led by APF President Professor Gisli Jenkins and a team of world-leading scientists. Their research, funded by UK Research and Innovation, aims to understand the causes of fibrosis, including the genetics of disease and the how the way we live ours lives might affect our risk of fibrosis. They hope to be able to identify new treatments and lifestyle changes (such weight loss and exercise) that could prevent or treat scarring and develop new technologies to monitor fibrotic diseases more effectively.
This is a really exciting and innovative project because it does not just focus on a single organ affected by fibrosis, but will be combining the knowledge, understanding and expertise across multiple fibrotic diseases.
We are really looking forward to hearing more about this work and will keep you updated.