Margarida Maia, PhD,  science writer—

Margarida is a biochemist (University of Porto, Portugal) with a PhD in biomedical sciences (VIB and KULeuven, Belgium). Her main interest is science communication. She is also passionate about design and the dialogue between art and science.

Articles by Margarida Maia

PADN effective for PH, meta-analysis of studies shows

Pulmonary artery denervation (PADN), a procedure that targets overactive nerves involved in blood vessel constriction, significantly lessens high blood pressure in the lungs of people with pulmonary hypertension (PH), according to a meta-analysis of more than a dozen studies. Pooled data also showed that the approach was associated with…

Celastrol has promise as preventive BPD-PH treatment in rat study

Celastrol, a herbal compound used in traditional Chinese medicine, may help prevent pulmonary hypertension associated with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD-PH) by reducing inflammation and protecting lung tissue from damage, a study in rats and lab-grown cells suggests. While these preclinical findings are promising, the compound is still experimental and more…

Oxygen-sensing protein a potential therapeutic target in PAH: Study

An oxygen-sensing protein called hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha, or HIF-1alpha, may contribute to worsening pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and is a possible therapeutic target for people with this rare type of pulmonary hypertension, a study by Chinese scientists found. According to the researchers, HIF-1alpha may worsen PAH by increasing the uptake…

Study links stopping Tyvaso to risk of disease worsening

Tyvaso (inhaled treprostinil) appears to be well tolerated by patients with different types of pulmonary hypertension (PH), and stopping the treatment increases the risk of disease worsening, a study found. The study, “Evaluation of patients with severe pulmonary hypertension and a range of comorbidities prescribed inhaled treprostinil,”…