Intersitial Lung Disease....curable or not?

I was just curious if Intersitial Lung Disease (ILD) is treatable/curable.
My dad is going to have a lung test next week and I was just curious if anyone personally knows about ILD. As my dad might have it. We are waiting to find out.
I appreciate any feed back.
Thanks again, Crystal

It all depends of just exactly which ILD he has (hopefully he doesn't). Some are treatable (sarcoid disease), while others are always fatal (pulmonary fibrosis). In cases where no cure exists, lung transplantation may be an option. I have idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and it is always fatal. I did try steroids and Interferon, but they did not help and the side effects were worse than the disease. I had CT scans and an open lung biopsy to confirm my diagnosis. There are places to go for help if he has IPF. Here are two good sites for more information:

http://www.coalitionforpf.org/
http://www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org/

The following is a short description of these diseases and their possible causes. Good luck and I really hope your father gets good news. Stay strong.


Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) are a group of diseases caused by inflammation and scarring of the alveoli (air sacs) and their supporting structures (the interstitium). This leads to reduced blood oxygen levels.

There are dozens of different causes of ILD, and the classification systems are often confusing. In fact, many experts disagree on the best classification system for the interstitial lung diseases. The interstitial lung diseases can be broken down into two large groups:
Those that have no known cause (idiopathic ILD).
Those with an identifiable cause.

One recent classification of idiopathic ILD includes the following subclasses:
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis/ usual interstitial pneumonitis (IPF/UIP)
Non-specific interstitial pneumonitis (NSIP)
Acute interstitial pneumonitis (AIP)

Many occupational substances such as silica (sand) dust, asbestos, coal dust, and cotton dust can cause ILD. People who work in industries with heavy exposures to known causes of occupational lung disease (for example, coal miners, sand-blasters, ship workers) are usually screened routinely for lung disease. Occasionally, bird keeping or bathing in hot tubs cause some forms of ILD.

Many connective tissue diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and lupus) can cause interstitial lung disease. Sarcoidosis is a relatively common disorder that often causes interstitial lung disease. Some medications (examples include bleomycin, amiodarone, and methotrexate) may cause ILD.

The risk factors, genetic predispositions, and rate of ILD depend on the specific disease being considered. Sarcoidosis, for example, is relatively common in some ethnic groups (African Americans).

Cigarette smoking may increase the risk of developing some forms of ILD and may cause the disease to be more severe.