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Is MAC a disease where there is remission but ultimately rarely a cure
MAC & Bronchiectasis | Last Active: 15 hours ago | Replies (24)Comment receiving replies
@cd33 The numbers may be increasing but perhaps they are still relatively small. There must be research being done on this some where?
I’m sorry you have to deal with MAC and hope that you never have a fungal infection, at any time.
We can hope that new antibiotics might better target the bacteria with fewer side effects, or new medication that will help prevent our lungs from being so susceptible to these nasty bacteria settling into our lungs in the first place.
For now, I’ll keep doing airway clearance etc!
Replies to "@cd33 The numbers may be increasing but perhaps they are still relatively small. There must be..."
& @cd33 Research is ongoing, both in the US and elsewhere. Some of the questions being studied include:
Whether case of Bronchiectasis and NTM are increasing or recognition and diagnosis are driving the numbers
What predisposes some people to Bronchiectasis
How people acquire their infections
Why people in some area get more NTM infections than in other areas.
Already research has led us to the following advances:
Sensitivity testing of NTM growing in the lab to optimize antibiotic therapy
Arikayce (inhaled Amikacin) for treating stubborn NTM infections
The importance of airway clearance in preventing serious infection
The use of nebulized 3 - 7% saline in tamping down NTM infections
The role of inhaled aerosols rich in NTM infections - peat, water, dirt - and ways to decrease exposure
The coming release of the first biologic - Brensocatib - to help interrupt the progression of Bronchiectasis
The use of phage therapy for life-threatening intractable infections - so far still experimental
We don't see headlines when these things happen because we are such a tiny part of the population, but research is happening worldwide.
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Thank you! We can only hope a better treatment comes sooner than later.