Andrea Lobo,  —

Andrea Lobo is a Science writer at BioNews. She holds a Biology degree and a PhD in Cell Biology/Neurosciences from the University of Coimbra-Portugal, where she studied stroke biology. She was a postdoctoral and senior researcher at the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health in Porto, in drug addiction, studying neuronal plasticity induced by amphetamines. As a research scientist for 19 years, Andrea participated in academic projects in multiple research fields, including stroke, gene regulation, cancer, and rare diseases. She authored multiple research papers in peer-reviewed journals. She shifted towards a career in science writing and communication in 2022.

Articles by Andrea Lobo

PH linked to increased risk of sleep disorders, brain structure changes

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is associated with an increased risk for sleep disorders, including obstructive sleep apnea, and structural brain changes at the genetic level, according to a recent study. These findings may help “develop new guidelines for the clinical management, personalized diagnosis, and treatment of PH, sleep disorder…

Insulin resistance correlates with disease severity in CTEPH: Study

Insulin resistance or IR — a reduced response of body tissues to insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels — was found to correlate with disease severity in people with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), according to a new study from researchers in China. Further, the team determined that…

Tenax expands development of PH treatment TNX-103

Tenax Therapeutics said it will extend its Phase 3 clinical development of an oral form of levosimendan for pulmonary hypertension and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (PH-HFpEF). The company last year received $100 million in funding to help it complete an ongoing Phase 3 LEVEL trial…

Pooled trial analysis supports Winrevair as PAH treatment

Winrevair (sotatercept) is generally safe and effective for people with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) when given in addition to their standard of care treatment, a pooled analysis of two clinical trials shows. Along with other benefits, the clinical studies — the Phase 2 PULSAR trial (NCT03496207) and…

LungFit PH NO therapy device wins marketing approval in Australia

LungFit PH, a device developed by Beyond Air for administering nitric oxide (NO) therapy, has received marketing approval from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which will allow the company to market the device as a Class IIb medical device. NO causes blood vessels to relax and widen, lowering…

Weight-based Uptravi dosing appropriate for PAH children: Study

Body weight-adjusted Uptravi (selexipag) dosing for children and adolescents with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) resulted in exposure to the treatment’s active ingredient comparable to that in adults with PAH, a study showed. The study assessed the treatment’s pharmacokinetics — its…

Phase 2 trial of tiprelestat for PAH receives FDA advice

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided Tiakis Biotech with advice for a planned Phase 2 clinical trial testing tiprelestat for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The ATHENA trial, which will assess the treatment’s safety and efficacy, is expected to enroll 90 patients, randomly assigned to receive…

Alivegen’s ALG-801 named FDA orphan drug for PAH

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to ALG-801, Alivegen’s experimental treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). That designation aims to support the development of therapies for rare diseases, or those affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. It comes with certain…

Study IDs 2 possible markers of PAH prognosis, treatment response

Blood levels of angiopoietin-2, a marker of blood vessel damage, may help predict treatment response and outcomes in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to a new study from researchers in the U.S. Levels of D-dimer, a marker of blood clot formation, were also increased in PAH patients, the study…

Study: High blood sugar is linked with PAH adverse outcomes

Indicators of high blood sugar levels, particularly stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR), may predict clinical worsening in people with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, a study in China indicates. Clinical worsening was defined as the first occurrence of lung transplant, being rehospitalized due to heart failure, or death from any cause.

Awareness campaign aims to improve PAH diagnosis, treatment

A new educational campaign aims to raise awareness of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) symptoms, with the goal of accelerating diagnosis and improving treatment. The American Lung Association campaign has the support of Merck, which markets Winrevair (sotatercept), a medication approved this year in the U.S. and…