A 23-year-old woman with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) was successfully treated for malignant catatonia with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in what may be the first case of its kind. Her story is described in a recent study titled “A case of malignant catatonia with idiopathic pulmonary arterial…
A clinical trial exploring if Rituxan (rituximab) is effective in managing pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with scleroderma is now recruiting participants in numerous locations across the U.S. Rituxan is an immunotherapy drug in the form of an antibody against the CD20 molecule, found on the surface of certain…
Bayer and the Canadian Vascular Network (CVN) recently announced the winners of a joint research fellowship that provides recognition and financial support to outstanding Canadian physician-researchers with an academic interest in pulmonary hypertension (PH). The recipients are Dr. Jason Weatherland, a respirologist and clinical assistant professor at the University…
Actelion Pharmaceuticals recently announced that Swissmedic, the Swiss regulatory agency for therapeutic products, has approved the orally active, selective IP prostacyclin-receptor agonist Uptravi (selexipag) for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Uptravi is indicated for the treatment of PAH in patients with advanced functional limitation (NYHA-functional class III/IV) to…
During their development, babies who will be born with Down syndrome have higher levels of anti-angiogenic factors in their lungs, impairing fetal lung vessel growth and potentially contributing to their developing pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), researchers report. The study, “Increased Lung Expression of Anti-Angiogenic Factors in Down Syndrome: Potential Role in…
People with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) have higher than usual levels of a protein produced in cells in response to shock or stress — called heat shock protein 90 or HSP90 — and diminishing those levels helped to prevent pulmonary hypertension from progressing in a rat model of the disease, researchers reported.
Reata Pharmaceuticals recently provided an update on its clinical candidates and their developmental, including its Phase 2 proof-of-concept studies into bardoxolone methyl as a potential treatment for various types of pulmonary hypertension and omaveloxolone for neuromuscular diseases. Bardoxolone methyl is being developed for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), or high…
A research collaboration between Intermountain Medical Center and ARUP Laboratories recently led to the development of a new and simple genomic testing method to diagnose a rare form of pulmonary hypertension (PH) caused by a certain gene mutation. Contrary to current tests that could require invasive lung biopsies to determined if a…
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…
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