Patricia Inácio, PhD, science writer —

Intravenous treatment with the approved heart failure medicine milrinone leads to significant improvements in heart structure and function in patients with mild-to-moderate pulmonary hypertension (PH) due to left heart disease, a study has found.” The report titled “Study on the clinical efficacy of specific phosphodiesterase inhibitor in patients…

An easy and simple tool called the incremental shuttle walk distance test, or ISWD, appears promising to identify early signs of pulmonary hypertension (PH), according to a new study. The results showed that patients with early PH who don’t show major disease symptoms already have a significant decrease in…

A new Phase 2 study evaluating Tenax Therapeutic’s investigational levosimendan as a therapy for pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with heart failure and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (PH-HFpEF) — a type of PH related to left heart disease – will soon begin recruiting participants, the company announced. Patients…

Bellerophon‘s positive top-line results from its Phase 2 trial testing INOpulse as a potential therapy for pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (PH-COPD) will be presented at an upcoming conference, the company announced. Results of the trial, which were initially announced in September 2017,…

A project investigating the role of a special protein called PFKFB3 in pulmonary hypertension (PH) has been awarded a $2.2 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. PFKFB3 is a potential new therapeutic target for early stages of PH. PFKFB3 is an enzyme involved in the…

Bellerophon Therapeutics announced that is moving forward with a planned Phase 2b trial that will investigate INOpulse as a therapy for pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (PH-COPD), following an agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding the study’s design. INOpulse therapy is based on…

Signaling, or “crosstalk,” between smooth muscle and other cells in the lungs’ vasculature can promote the progression of pulmonary hypertension, research in mice shows. The findings point to mechanisms underlying PH that may lead to new treatments, especially ones targeting early stages of the disease. The research “Cell Autonomous…

Poor renal function is linked to an increased prevalence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), a retrospective study suggests. The study, “Epidemiology and risk factors in CKD patients with pulmonary hypertension: a retrospective study,” was published in the journal BMC…

Deficiency of an enzyme called granzyme B leads to deposits of calcium in pulmonary blood vessels, contributing to the defects found in hypoxic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), an animal study suggests. The study, “Granzyme B deficiency promotes osteoblastic differentiation and calcification of vascular smooth muscle cells in…

Family and friends caring for people with rare diseases face emotional, financial, physical, and social burnout, partly because outside sources of support are limited, the first-of-its-kind U.S. survey shows. Global Genes and the National Alliance for Caregiving released the findings, which Greenwald & Associates conducted. It covered 1,406 family members caring…

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a $2.8 million Fast Track Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals to advance the clinical development of PB1046, the first sustained-release analogue of the natural vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). In…

Reata Pharmaceuticals announced that pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients treated with bardoxolone methyl showed significant improvements in kidney function that were sustained for two years without adverse outcomes. The results from the long-term follow-up of the Phase 2 LARIAT study (NCT02036970) showing a two-year improvement in kidney…