Iqra Mumal, MSc,  —

Pulmonary hypertension in patients with sarcoidosis is associated with poor prognosis, despite treatment with a targeted therapy, a new study shows. The study “Management and long-term outcomes of sarcoidosis-associated pulmonary hypertension,” was published in the European Respiratory Journal. Patients with sarcoidosis frequently develop pulmonary hypertension. In…

Blocking the enzyme phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) is a potential new therapeutic strategy to treat early pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients who have had a heart attack, a study suggests. The research, “Pulmonary vasodilation by phosphodiesterase 5-inhibition is enhanced and nitric oxide-independent in early pulmonary hypertension after myocardial infarction,”…

Patients with a disease that causes abnormal blood vessel formation in skin, mucous membranes and some organs are at risk of developing different types of pulmonary hypertension, a study shows. The organs affected by the blood-vessel condition, hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), include the lungs, liver and brain. The types of pulmonary…

The European Patent Office has issued a notice of allowance to the biopharmaceutical company SteadyMed for its enhanced infusion-site pain reduction technology called the PatchPump infusion system. A notice of allowance is a document sent to a patent applicant indicating that a patent examiner has issued the requested patent. SteadyMed’s…

IV delivery of stem cells to rats with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) reduced the animals’ harmful lung blood vessel remodeling and improved their blood flow, a study reports. Researchers said the implication was that the stem cells could be used as a treatment for PAH. They used a type of stem…

The use of Revatio (sildenafil) to treat pulmonary hypertension in patients with valvular heart disease leads to worse clinical outcomes compared to placebo, results from a new clinical trial indicate. Results from the Phase 4 SIOVAC trial (NCT00862043) were presented at a Hot Line Late Breaking Clinical Trials (LBCT)…

Actelion’s Uptravi (selexipag) delays the progression of pulmonary arterial hypertension that stems from connective tissue disease, a follow-up analysis of Phase 3 clinical trial findings indicates. People with PAH-CTD also tolerate the therapy fairly well, according to the study. The PAH part of PAH-CTD refers to high blood pressure…

Estrogen inhibitors may treat pulmonary vascular disease by correcting metabolic defects in women with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), say researchers at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University. Their study,“Oestrogen inhibition reverses pulmonary arterial hypertension and associated metabolic defects,” appeared in the European Respiratory Journal. Most people with hereditary PAH have mutations…

A new study shows that CMR (cardiovascular magnetic resonance) fluoroscopy-guided heart catheterization is a safe method with an appropriate procedure time, high rate of success, and better accuracy than the more commonly used techniques to determine hemodynamic parameters. The study, titled, “CMR fluoroscopy right heart catheterization for cardiac…