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Statins, the cholesterol lowering drugs, may improve the beneficial effects of Rho-kinase inhibitors in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to the results of an animal study performed by researchers at the Medical University of Lodz, in Poland. The study, titled “Rosuvastatin intensifies the beneficial effects of rho-kinase inhibitor…

Low-risk pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients may be able to switch from pump-infusion parenteral prostacyclin therapy to more convenient oral therapies, according to the study, “Transition from parenteral to oral treprostinil in pulmonary arterial hypertension,” published in the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. Prostanoids, which include prostaglandins, thromboxanes and prostacyclins,…

Increased levels of the blood plasma protein endothelin-1 are linked to pulmonary hypertension in African-Americans, according to a large study exploring heart disease. The findings, presented in the journal JAMA Cardiology in the study titled “Association of Elevated Plasma Endothelin-1 Levels With Pulmonary Hypertension, Mortality, and Heart Failure…

Patients undergoing a minimally invasive surgery known as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) can improve their quality of life, according to a new study. The study also showed that persistent severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) after the TAVR procedure, in comparison to severe PH at baseline before the intervention, is a strong predictor of…

Further evidence that the oral drug Orenitram (treprostinil) might be a viable option to Remodulin, the injected version of the drug, for lower risk pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients was recently published by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The study, “Transition from parenteral to oral treprostinil in…

Patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) have much higher levels of the blood vessel factor TSP-1 in their blood, with levels coinciding with the type and severity of the disease. Since the factor is known to interact with several PH treatment targets, the study, titled “The role of circulating…

Inhibiting the molecular chaperone heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) may be a promising therapeutic approach in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to an animal study developed by researchers at the Second Military Medical University in China. The study, “Inhibition of heat shock protein 90 improves pulmonary arteriole remodeling…

Gene therapy may offer a promising therapeutic approach for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to an animal study conducted by Japanese researchers. The study “Constitutively active form of natriuretic peptide receptor 2 ameliorates experimental pulmonary arterial hypertension,” published in Molecular Therapy Methods and Clinical Development, shows…

A prospective analysis of two clinical trials, PATENT-1 and PATENT-2, showed that riociguat (Adempas) treatment improves several parameters of lung and cardiac function in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and in those with PAH associated with connective tissue disease (PAH-CTD). The study “Riociguat for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension…

INOpulse, a nitric oxide delivery device that is being developed by Bellerophon Therapeutics, was approved by health authorities in Belgium to be used in a Phase 2 trial in patients with pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (PH-COPD). The first patient is expected to be enrolled in the third quarter…

Mitochondria in lung arteries responds in an opposite way to a lack of oxygen compared to mitochondria in other parts of the body, as they constrict and remodel blood vessels. This finding allowed researchers to reverse pulmonary hypertension in rats by transplanting mitochondria from a leg artery to the lung by…

Chinese researchers have identified a microRNA as a key molecular factor involved in lung blood vessel remodeling in response to low oxygen levels — a process leading to pulmonary hypertension. The study “Upregulation of MicroRNA-214 Contributes to the Development of Vascular Remodeling in Hypoxia-induced Pulmonary Hypertension Via…