News

The hardships felt by caregivers of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are “multidimensional” — emotional, physical and economic — and those burdens should be recognized and caregivers’ own physical and psychological needs accounted for, as their work is increasingly necessary to societies in which patients are living longer, a recent review study argues. In the review, “…

The Fetal Health Foundation (FHF) awarded this year’s Brianna Marie Memorial Research Grant to Dr. Jan Deprest, a specialist in congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a life-threatening condition in infants caused by a birth defect in which the diaphragm does not form completely, creating a hole in the muscle between the chest and…

Researchers found a new mutation in a gene — called eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α kinase 4 (EIF2AK4)  — in members of a family with hereditary pulmonary arterial hypertension (HPAH). This mutation represents a potential “second hit” that increases the likelihood of certain family members developing the disease. The study, “…

Treating stored red blood cells with nitric oxide before a transfusion lessens the risk that a patient will develop pulmonary hypertension — a finding that may work to end, or at least substantially lower, a dangerous side effect of blood transfusions. The study, “Exposure of Stored Packed Erythrocytes…

Actelion announced that a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating its pulmonary hypertension treatment, macitentan, in patients with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) has met its primary endpoint. At week 16, treatment resulted in a significant reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) compared to placebo. MERIT is a 24-week, randomized and…

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) is calling on people affected by pulmonary hypertension (PH) to attend the free PHA on the Road: PH Patients and Families Education Forum it is helping to sponsor on Nov. 1, at the Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina in Tampa, Florida. Carolyn Sheehy…

Mast Therapeutics announced that positive interim data from its ongoing Phase 2a clinical trial of AIR001 (sodium nitrite, or Aironite) inhalation solution for the treatment of patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) have been published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI). The open label, Phase 2a clinical trial (NCT01431313) is evaluating…

How people with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are diagnosed and treated depends to a notable degree on the country or region in which they live, according to a new study, which also found that a sizable number never undergo right heart catheterization to confirm their disease. The findings, published in the…

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) has started a social media video campaign, A Heart Cures, asking people to make and share 10- to 30-second videos of themselves giving thanks to loved ones or strangers for little acts of kindness and support. Posted videos will run through November, which is both…

Results from a Phase 3 study showed that treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients with oral Opsumit (macitentan) improved both their physical and mental health, positively impacting their quality of life (QoL). PAH is a progressive disease characterized by the difficulty to breathe and recurrent fatigue.  Several studies have shown that PAH affects a person’s mental…

Inhalation treatment that uses either nitric oxide or Ventavis (iloprost) is equally effective in managing lingering high lung blood pressure after surgery for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). A comparison of the two treatments — published in the journal General Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery under the title, “A prospective, randomized study…

Although subcutaneous infusion of Remodulin (treprostinil) is an effective treatment for patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), it can have undesired effects such as pain at the infusion site. But a study reports that speeding up Remodulin administration, and combining it with injection-site pain management, is an easily tolerated option that may help patients better…