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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…

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…