Fibrosis is the formation of scar tissue due to injury or long-term inflammation. There are two main types of fibrosis:

Pulmonary Fibrosis - Pulmonary Fibrosis involves the overgrowth, hardening, and/or scarring of lung tissue due to excess collagen. The most common variation of this disease is Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, which is lung fibrosis from unknown causes. Common symptoms include shortness of breath, a chronic dry cough, fatigue, weakness, chest discomfort, loss of appetite, and rapid weight loss. It usually affects people between the ages of 40 and 70, and men and women are equally affected. The prognosis for patients with this disease is poor, and are usually only expected to live an average of 4 to 6 years after diagnosis.

Cystic Fibrosis - Cystic Fibrosis is a chronic, progressive, and often fatal genetic disease of the body's mucus glands. Symptoms sometimes include abnormal heart rhythms, malnutrition, poor growth, frequent respiratory infections, and breathing difficulties. Cystic Fibrosis can also cause other medical problems including sinusitis, nasal polyps, hemoptysis (coughing of blood), abdominal pain and discomfort, gassiness, and rectal prolapse. It primarily affects the respiratory and digestive systems in children and young adults. The symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis are often apparent at birth or shortly thereafter; rarely do the signs wait until adolescence to show up. It is most commonly found in Caucasians, and the prognosis is moderate, with many patients living up to 30 years after diagnosis. Although this form of fibrosis was once characterized by death in childhood, doctors now view it as a chronic illness, with the majority of patients living to adulthood. However, there is still no cure, and most patients eventually succumb to lung failure or other infections of the respiratory tract.

While there is no effective treatment currenlty available for fibrosis, there are many drugs being tested all the time, so perhaps the cure is not far away.