Current Developments in Interstitial Lung Disease

Supplement Aims and Scope interest. This supplement aims to address this by presenting high-quality articles that allow readers to distinguish the signal from the noise. The editor in chief hopes that through this effort, practitioners and researchers will be aided in finding answers to some of the most complex and pressing issues of our time. Articles should focus on ILD and may include the following topics: New advances in ILD § § Clinical approaches to patients with ILD § § End-points to measure improvement in clinical studies § § This supplement is intended to focus on interstitial lung disease. New treatment advances, clinical approaches to patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) and end-points to measure improvement in clinical studies are included within the supplement's scope. Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine aims to provide researchers working in this complex, quickly developing field with online, open access to highly relevant scholarly articles by leading international researchers. In a field where the literature is ever-expanding, researchers increasingly need access to up-to-date, high quality scholarly articles on areas of specific contemporary I nterstitial lung disease (ILD) is a heterogeneous group of lung disorders characterized by various degrees of inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis occurring predominantly in the interstices or supporting structures of the lung. ILD also affects the alveoli, bronchioles, bronchi, and blood vessels along with the lining of epithelial or endothelial cells. LDL is mainly subdivided into idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP), collagen vascular disease (CVD)-associated ILD (CVD-ILD), drug-related ILD, and ILD associated with occupational and environmental exposures such as pneumoconiosis and hyper-sensitivity pneumonia. Sarcoidosis, eosinophilic pneumonia, and other rare primary forms of ILD, such as lymphangio-leiomyomatosis, alveolar proteinosis, and pulmonary histiocy-tosis X, are also included in the ILD group. 1 According to the 2013 revised IIP classification by the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS), IIP consists of six major diseases (namely, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis [IPF], idiopathic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia [NSIP], cryptogenic organizing pneumonia [COP], respiratory bronchiolitis-ILD, desquamative interstitial pneumonia , and acute interstitial pneumonia), two rare diseases, and unclassifiable diseases. 2 Because there are marked differences in prognosis and treatment among the different types and severities of ILD, an accurate diagnosis is essential to appropriate patient management. Reliable tools for predicting clinical courses and outcomes as well as for evaluating disease severity are also needed. Although it remains challenging for clinicians and researchers, our understanding of …