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

Breathing workout strengthens muscles, exercise capacity: Study

Engaging in inspiratory muscle training for eight weeks may help people with pulmonary hypertension (PH) strengthen their respiratory (breathing) muscles and gain exercise capacity, a study suggests. This is important because inspiratory (breathing in) muscle training may offer a non-invasive approach to improve the quality of life and overall…

Study links advanced PAH to diabetes

Roughly one in four people with idiopathic (of unknown cause) pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) also have diabetes, a disease that causes high blood glucose (sugar), a multi-center Polish study found. Having diabetes was linked to more advanced pulmonary vascular disease and worse survival, which held true even after accounting…

Study examines long-term prognosis of CTEPH after blood clot

Developing chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) within two years after a venous thromboembolism (VTE), which occurs when a blood clot forms in a vein, nearly doubles the risk of long-term death, according to a large study from Denmark. Researchers also observed that all types of pulmonary hypertension (PH)…

Genes may be targets to treat right heart failure linked to PAH

Certain genes are differentially expressed, meaning they have different activity, in people with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) whose right side of the heart fails to work as it should, a study found. Researchers believe that those genes, generally involved in regulating the electrical properties of the heart’s muscle cells,…


A Conversation With Rare Disease Advocates