Lindsey Shapiro, PhD, science writer —

Lindsey earned her PhD in neuroscience from Emory University in Atlanta, where she studied novel therapeutic strategies for treatment-resistant forms of epilepsy. She was awarded a fellowship from the American Epilepsy Society in 2019 for this research. Lindsey also previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher, studying the role of inflammation in epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease.

Articles by Lindsey Shapiro

Rising immune cell ratio can risk survival with CKD-related PH

Elevated blood levels of an inflammatory biomarker called the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were associated with a higher risk of death among people with pulmonary hypertension (PH) related to chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a recent report. “NLR, which is a convenient and inexpensive parameter, may be a novel…

PAH treatment Uptravi leads to improvements, registry data show

Most adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) who switched to Uptravi (selexipag) from other medications in its class achieved stabilization or a lessening of disease severity, according to an analysis of real-world treatment data from the SPHERE registry. Clinical outcomes were also generally good for Uptravi-treated PAH patients…

EMA branch favors approving Winrevair to treat PAH across EU

An advisory committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is recommending that Winrevair (sotatercept) be approved for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in the Europe Union. Specifically, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) issued an opinion recommending that Winrevair to be used in…

Possible diagnostic biomarkers ID’d for COVID-19 complicated by PH

Researchers have identified two inflammation-related genes — SELE and CCL20 — whose activity could serve as diagnostic biomarkers for the development of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in people with COVID-19. Further, the team also identified molecules that target these biomarkers as possible therapeutic approaches for managing the complication. Overall, the…

Skeletal muscle dysfunction not cause of reduced exercise capacity

Reduced exercise capacity appeared to be a consequence of cardiac and pulmonary changes, but not skeletal muscle alterations, in rat models of pulmonary hypertension (PH), according to recent research. While no functional problems with muscles could be observed despite obvious impairments in exercise capacity, significant cardiopulmonary dysfunction was already present.

FDA approves Opsynvi as 1st single-tablet PAH combo treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved once-daily, fixed-dose tablets containing a combination of macitentan and tadalafil — to be marketed under the brand name Opsynvi — to treat adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The approval marks the first single-tablet treatment combination to become available…