News

Pulmonary artery dilation speeds up the progression of pediatric idiopathic and heritable pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a Japanese study shows. Dilation of the main pulmonary artery (MPA) and narrowing of the peripheral pulmonary artery are both characteristic of PAH. Previous studies have shown that MPA dilation is linked to higher pulmonary artery…

Pfizer’s Phase 4 clinical trial (NCT00323297) in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) shows no clinical benefits of adding Revatio (sildenafil) to a stable Tracleer (bosentan) regimen. The study, “Sildenafil dosed concomitantly with bosentan for adult pulmonary arterial hypertension in a randomized controlled trial,” appeared in the…

Diethylcarbamazine, a compound used to fight a tropical parasitic disease, might effectively treat pulmonary hypertension (PH), a Brazilian research team concluded after observing the drug’s effect on mice. Their study, “Diethylcarbamazine: A potential treatment drug for pulmonary hypertension?” appeared in the journal Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. It found that diethylcarbamazine affected disease processes…

The female sex hormone estrogen may prevent disease progression of pulmonary hypertension — at least if results in rats can be translated to human patients. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) showed that estrogen reversed progression from pulmonary hypertension (PH) to right heart failure, and restored lung…

Bayer’s Adempas (riociguat) can improve the lung and heart functioning of pulmonary hypertension patients who fail to respond to phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE5i), a Phase 3 clinical trial suggests. The RESPITE trial also showed that Adempas can improve biomarkers of pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH. Researchers published the study in the European…

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and is associated with the presence of specific autoantibodies, a study has found. PAH is a complex disease characterized by the constriction of pulmonary arteries. PAH can be associated with connective tissue diseases (CTDs) such as SLE. The…