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Supplemental oxygen use is associated with improved survival in a subpopulation of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a study has found. Current guidelines that recommend oxygen supplementation therapy for PAH patients are based on early data that showed the benefits of long-term oxygen therapy in patients with…

People with congenital heart disease are seven times more likely to develop pulmonary hypertension than the general population, a long-term Danish study indicates. In addition, congenital heart disease patients with PH are four times more likely to die than those without PH, the researchers reported. Their article, “Incidence and Mortality…

British researchers have identified rare mutations of four genes that could lead to pulmonary arterial hypertension. The team said scientists might be able to develop PAH treatments around the mutations of the genes GDF2, ATP13A3, AQP1, and SOX17. Their study, “Identification of rare sequence variation underlying heritable pulmonary…

University of Edinburgh researchers identifying a protein that could become a target for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH. They discovered that the two-pore segment channel 2 protein, or TPC2, in pulmonary artery muscle cells regulates signals triggered by calcium that are important to controlling muscle cell contractions. The finding offers…

Arena Pharmaceuticals’ ralinepag reduced the risk of pulmonary arterial hypertension patients dying, a Phase 2 clinical trial showed. Temple University Professor Raymond Benza will present the results at the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation meeting in Nice, France, on April 14.  The four-day conference started April 11. The…

The genetic landscape of pulmonary arterial hypertension that strikes in childhood differs from the one that develops after a person reaches adulthood, a study reports. There is little variation between children and adults in gene mutations commonly associated with PAH, such as BMPR2. But children have more of the rarer…

A little-known government entity within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is helping to lead U.S. efforts to speed up the development of therapies for some 7,000 rare diseases. The Office of Rare Diseases Research (ORDR), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, was established in 1993 within the NIH Office of the…

Children with pulmonary hypertension (PH) are a relatively high-risk group for cardiac catheterization, a new study shows. In turn, hospital experience with the procedure reduces this risk. The research that supports that finding, “Risk Factors for Major Early Adverse Events Related to Cardiac Catheterization in Children and…

A compound in a plant that is used in traditional Chinese medicine lowered the lung blood pressure of rats with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a study shows The compound, osthole, did this by decreasing levels of proteins associated with PAH, researchers said. The study, “Global Proteomics Deciphered Novel-Function of…

Plans for a Phase 2 clinical trial of levosimendan, a proposed treatment for pulmonary hypertension associated with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction, will soon be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval, Tenax Therapeutics announced. In a pre-application meeting with company executives, the FDA supported the study’s proposed…

Credit: phaware Every year, World PH Day is celebrated on May 5. This year the virtual non-profit #phaware global association is inviting friends of the pulmonary hypertension (PH) community to become a #phaware brand ambassador and participate in activities worldwide to raise awareness of the…

Patients with higher exercise capacity present a reduced risk of pulmonary arterial hypertension-associated death or hospitalization, according to results of a Phase 3 clinical trial. The research was published in the journal PLOS One, in a study titled “Association between six-minute walk distance and long-term outcomes in patients…