Margarida Maia, PhD,  science writer—

Levels of the enzyme PRDX2 increase as a protective response in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) and help reduce damage to blood vessels in the lungs, a new study in laboratory rats has found. The researchers discovered that the antioxidant enzyme worked to reduce vessel damage by limiting inflammation,…

Women with pulmonary hypertension have a lower risk of death than men, a difference that persists regardless of how severe the disease is, how old patients are, or how they are treated, a large study found. The disparity mainly affected white patients, the researchers said. “These insights provide new…

Uptravi (selexipag) may reduce blood pressure in the lungs of children with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and help them perform physical tasks, according to a meta-analysis. However, more long-term studies are still needed to confirm these benefits. The study, “Efficacy and Tolerability of Selexipag in…

From 1990 to 2021, cases of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) increased worldwide among older adults, mainly due to growing aging populations. Elderly women were found to face the highest risk of death, according to data from the Global Burden of Disease Study. “Our findings provided a novel global perspective…

Stanford University has been awarded a grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to begin a Phase 2 clinical trial of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) treatment tiprelestat, the treatment’s developer announced. Tiakis Biotech said tiprelestat was found to be safe in earlier clinical trials involving more…

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…