News

Ventripoint Diagnostics‘ VMS Heart Analysis System, which produces a two-dimensional (2D) volumetric reconstruction model of the heart, accurately measures small changes in the heart’s right ventricle volume and can be used in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH), a new study finds. The study, “Two-dimensional knowledge-based volumetric reconstruction of the…

Estrogen inhibitors may treat pulmonary vascular disease by correcting metabolic defects in women with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), say researchers at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University. Their study,“Oestrogen inhibition reverses pulmonary arterial hypertension and associated metabolic defects,” appeared in the European Respiratory Journal. Most people with hereditary PAH have mutations…

Adcirca (tadalafil) exerts a variety of positive effects that may explain why the therapy improves idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), according to an in vitro study. The study, “Tadalafil induces antiproliferation, apoptosis, and phosphodiesterase type 5 downregulation in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension in vitro,” was published…

A treatment given people with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) — Sprycel (dasatinib) — is known to cause pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in some. Now, researchers in France report that PAH may persist in 37 percent of these leukemia patients for years after the therapy is stopped, although discontinuation is of…

Reviva Pharmaceuticals‘ RP5063 prevented rats from developing pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to a Canadian study. In addition to precluding heart and blood vessel damage in the animals, RP5063 decreased levels of cytokines, or proteins associated with inflammation. The study, published in the European Journal of Pharmacology, was titled “…

Bellerophon Therapeutics has updated clinical trials testing its investigative INOpulse system for several forms of pulmonary hypertension (PH). The update is part of the company’s second-quarter 2017 financial report. The INOvation-1 trial (NCT02725372) seeks to evaluate the safety, tolerability and effectiveness of pulsed, inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) compared to placebo…

Tracking long-term changes in measurements associated with pulmonary hypertension patients’ death from heart disease can help doctors do a better job of identifying those at higher risk of such deaths, a study reports. The hallmark of what doctors call pulmonary arterial hypertension due to congenital heart disease, or PAH-CHD, is…

Human cardiotrophin 1 protein (hCT1) stimulates heart muscle growth in rats with induced right heart failure (RHF) due to severe pulmonary arterial hypertension, leading to improved heart function, a new study shows. The results suggest that hCT1 could be beneficial for patients with an intractable form of heart failure. The study, “Cardiotrophin 1…

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) has expanded its Pulmonary Hypertension Care Centers (PHCC) network by accrediting two new pulmonary hypertension (PH) programs as Centers for Comprehensive Care (CCC). The two new additions, the Pulmonary Hypertension Programs at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and…

Pulmonary hypertension expert Paresh Giri believes in patient support groups. The prevailing view is that the groups’ main function is helping patients cope with their condition. They certainly do that, but their gatherings are also places where valuable information is exchanged, Giri said. “For example, to hear how one person…

The ratio between the proteins MMP2 and TIMP4 in blood samples of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (iPAH) patients was found to predict disease worsening and mortality in a German study. It also correlated with mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP), pulmonary vascular resistance, and other indicators of disease progression. The study, “…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreed to the Phase 2 study of INOpulse in pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients with interstitial lung disease. This is the third potential treatment application of INOpulse, a device that delivers inhaled nitric oxide, developed by Bellerophon Therapeutics. In patients with pulmonary…