News

A study from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine showed that a cellular ion transporter might contribute to the increased expansion and migration of smooth muscle cells lining lung arteries in a model of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The findings provide new insights into disease mechanisms leading to blood vessel…

Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) appears to be of multiple benefit to patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), both in terms of hemodynamics and in other systemic disorders like glycemic control and kidney disease, according to a study published in the journal Circulation, titled “Multiple Beneficial Effects of Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty in Patients…

The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) announced it has enrolled its first pulmonary fibrosis (PF) patient in the newly launched PFF Patient Registry, a collaborative effort involving patients, researchers, and healthcare providers that will gather data to advance PF research and improve patients’ quality of life. Enrollment takes place at participating PFF Care Center Network (CCN) sites across the…

A study recently published in the journal European Respiratory Review reported the case of a man with pulmonary hypertension resulting from silica exposure-induced sarcoidosis. The report urges clinicians to be aware of this rare cause of pulmonary hypertension, in which specific analyses are needed to confirm a diagnosis.

Results from a retrospective study based on a claims database of U.S. patients with pulmonary embolism indicated that physicians are failing to recognize and diagnose thousands of cases of a serious lung disease, chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). The study, “Monitoring for Pulmonary Hypertension Following Pulmonary Embolism: The INFORM…

Iloprost, an inhaled solution, is approved for the management of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in several countries, including the United States. A new study explored the drug’s effects in a Japanese population and found it to be both efficient and safe, a finding echoing results of previous studies largely conducted in…

A scientist from the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) recently presented the results of a Phase 2 clinical trial demonstrating PulmoBind biomarker’s safety and the PulmoBind tomography (SPECT) scan’s ability to detect abnormalities in pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients . The presentation was made at the Annual Meeting of the…

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the scientific board of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), has “readopted” its positive opinion in support of Actelion’s Uptravi (selexipag) as a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). According to an Actelion press release, the “re-adoption” of the…

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) recently announced the accreditation of two new Centers of Comprehensive Care and their inclusion in its Pulmonary Hypertension Care Centers (PHCC) initiative. PHA comprehensive care centers can now be found in 23 U.S. states, assisting and providing more treatment options for adults and children…

Marlene Rabinovitch, MD, a pediatric cardiology physician at Stanford Children’s Health and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, will be honored for her life’s work and present the 2016 J. Burns Amberson Lecture at the American Thoracic Society (ATS)’s Annual Meeting, which will take place in San Francisco on May…

The use of a combination therapy in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) “significantly” reduced the risk of clinical worsening compared to monotherapy in those responding to treatment, according to a recent meta-analysis published in the journal The Lancet, titled “Combination therapy versus monotherapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension:…

Researchers recently investigated the link between thyroid gland function and idiopathic pulmonary hypertension, finding subclinical hypothyroidism in almost half of patients observed. The study, “Assessment of Thyroid Function in Idiopathic Pulmonary Hypertension,” was published in the Research in Cardiovascular Medicine journal. Idiopathic pulmonary hypertension is a rare and ultimately fatal…