Targeting the nitric oxide deficiency resulting from pulmonary arterial hypertension through drugs such as sildenafil is a cornerstone of PAH treatment. A new study showed that sildenafil decreased the signs of oxidative stress by reducing hydroxynonenal (HNE) in patients, but was unable to lower elevated levels of free fatty acids in the blood. The results suggested…
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Clinical-stage biotherapeutics company, Bellerophon Therapeutics, Inc., recently announced that its proprietary program device, a new version of the INOpulse drug-device delivery system, has received EC certification with CE marking, meaning that it has met the European Union’s regulatory health, safety, and environmental requirements for a new medical device and can be marketed…
Work on a doctoral dissertation at Umeå University in Sweden led to the discovery of new blood biomarkers reflecting vasoreactivity in lung blood vessels of patients with heart and lung disease, which can lead to simplified diagnostics and better treatment evaluation in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). L-arginine and dimethylarginines, the…
Morphogen-IX, a new biotechnology company based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, has received financial support to potentially advance a new treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) that targets the main pathway involved in the disease. The treatment may provide the first disease-modifying drug for the condition, and is based on fifteen years of research by…
A study reported that certain cells in the lungs act as sensors, linking the pulmonary and central nervous systems to regulate immune responses in reaction to environmental stimuli. The study, published in the journal Science, is entitled “Pulmonary neuroendocrine cells function as airway sensors to control lung immune response.” The…
Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) have developed an alternative treatment system for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), consisting of a controlled-release microparticle formulation that’s delivered through inhalation. The article reporting the system’s development was published in the…
The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) is celebrating its 25th birthday in 2016 by highlighting major Pulmonary Hypertension treatment advances made over the past two decades, in order to encourage those with PH to remain hopeful for the development of future therapeutic advancements that will improve quality of life and lifespan. To mark the occasion, the association…
Switzerland-based Actelion, developer of two approved pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) drugs Opsumit (macitentan) and, more recently, Uptravi (selexipag), announced that it will present updates on company growth and future plans at investor conferences in the near future. Actelion is in the process of transforming is PAH portfolio and developing its R&D pipeline of…
A new set of heart and lungs have brought renewed hope to Oswaldo Jimenez and, through the innovative approach taken by his transplant team at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford in California, a fresh chance at life. The Salem, Oregon, teenager, diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) at age…
A new study is investigating whether tocilizumab, an immunosuppressive drug mainly used as a therapy for rheumatoid arthritis and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, might also be a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Treatment options now available for the condition only alleviate disease symptoms. Tocilizumab may become the first disease modifying PAH drug. The…
Right ventricular dysfunction is intimately linked to pulmonary hypertension (PH). Since the dynamics of the two ventricles of the heart are connected through the shared tissue of the septum – the wall between the two ventricles – the team behind a new British study hypothesized that the left ventricle would also be affected in PH,…
The legendary singer Natalie Cole, the daughter of Nat King Cole, died on New Year’s Eve at the Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), which led to heart failure, according to a statement released by her family. She was 65. Cole had battled health issues for years,…
