Improving fibrosis measurement
Over the past several months I have been working on a method for measuring fibrosis. I published an article based on this work in Physiological Reports. The journal has started a podcast series and this article was in the second episode. I discussed the article with Physiological Reports editor Tom Kleyman. I embedded the full podcast below and the article is available on the journal website
Fibrosis is an important step in healing an injury. The scar that might form after a cut is an example of normal physiological fibrosis. Unfortunately fibrosis is not always benign. Pathological fibrosis is the deposition of excessive fibrous tissue. This interferes with healing and the function of the organ. Fibrosis is a dominant feature in the histological damage seen in many diseases. Examples include idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, and Crohn's disease. My interest is in chronic kidney disease.
The advanced stages of kidney disease requires treatment by dialysis or kidney transplantation. Both of these options have many negative consequences. Treatments to slow the development of fibrosis would help many patients.
Accurate measurements of fibrosis are vital in treatment development. The sirius red method in this article is more reproducible and precise. I hope it will contribute to getting better treatment options to the patients that need them.