Margarida Maia, PhD,  science writer—

A 5-year-old boy with a neuroblastoma developed pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) after receiving high-dose busulfan to prepare for a stem cell transplant, but diagnosing his condition early and treating it with three lung pressure-lowering medications led to a full recovery. This treatment approach has significantly increased survival in children…

Exosomes — very small, sac-like structures — derived from stem cells may offer a potential treatment for hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH) by preventing the abnormal growth and movement of muscle cells lining blood vessels. That’s according to data from a new study, conducted by researchers in China using lab-grown…

Elevated blood levels of a protein called CTRP7 — which are significantly higher in people with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) than in those without the disease — may predict a poor response to Uptravi (selexipag), according to findings from a new study in Japan involving both mice and…

Researchers used small particles called extracellular vesicles to deliver a form of apelin directly to damaged blood vessels in the lungs, which helped reverse the damage and improve heart function in animal models of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to a study. Apelin, a peptide that plays a role…

Nearly two-thirds of patients with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) — in which the heart struggles to relax and fill with blood between heartbeats — also have pulmonary hypertension, a study found, and the condition is more likely if a person has an enlarged left atrium (the heart’s upper…

Combining pulmonary vasodilators, medications that widen blood vessels, and antifibrotics, which slow the progression of scarring, may prolong survival and time without needing a transplant in people with both pulmonary hypertension (PH) and pulmonary fibrosis, a study suggested. “Antifibrotic and pulmonary vasodilator therapy could improve transplant-free survival in…

Heart failure related to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is becoming more common, with patients living fewer years in full health, a trend that’s predicted to continue, with more cases and deaths expected by 2050, a study showed. In the three decades from 1990 to 2021, women accounted for more…

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…

Treatments approved for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) may reduce by half the risk of serious complications or death in adults and adolescents who also have repaired congenital heart disease (CHD), pooled data analysis of three clinical trials shows. This risk was similarly reduced among the whole PAH patient population…

Corvista Health’s point-of-care device, which can be used to predict pulmonary hypertension in a noninvasive way, also appears to work well at identifying heart failure, accurately detecting patients who have it while ruling it out in others, a study found. Using machine learning to decode data from patients,…

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…

Seralutinib, an inhaled therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in the pipeline of Gossamer Bio, continues to reduce the resistance blood faces moving into the lungs when added to standard of care treatment for PAH, according to data from a long-term extension part of a Phase 2 clinical…