Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis kills half of its victims within five years of diagnosis. Currently available treatment regimens are disappointing, and the incidence of the disease appears to be increasing. Newer techniques of imaging coupled with laboratory advances in molecular and cellular biology may produce new strategies for modulating the disease process. This article explores new approaches to the diagnosis and management of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.