Specialized Lung Disease

Cystic Fibrosis: From Managing Symptoms to Fixing the Fault

Cystic fibrosis is caused by a single broken protein that makes the body's mucus abnormally thick and sticky, clogging the lungs. For decades all we could do was manage the consequences. Then came one of modern medicine's most exciting breakthroughs: drugs that repair the faulty protein itself — a real-world triumph of precision, targeted treatment.

Pulmonary Hypertension: High Blood Pressure in the Lungs

We usually think of high blood pressure as a problem of the body's main circulation. But there's a separate, dangerous kind that affects only the blood vessels of the lungs — pulmonary hypertension — and it has its own specialised drugs that work by relaxing those lung vessels. Their mechanisms are a satisfying tour of vasodilation, with a familiar face from the erectile-dysfunction chapter.

Pulmonary Fibrosis: When the Lung Turns to Scar

Most of this section has been about airways that narrow and open. Pulmonary fibrosis is a different kind of lung disease entirely — the lung tissue itself becomes stiff and scarred. For years nothing could touch it; now two drugs can at least slow it down. This closing article rounds out the specialised end of respiratory medicine.