In a new study, researchers observed that intrapulmonary vascular dilatations (IPVDs), essential features of hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS), were more commonly found than expected in a study evaluating patients with portopulmonary hypertension, leading to a recommendation that all such patients be screened for IPVD. The research paper, titled “Intrapulmonary vascular dilatations…
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A recent study suggests that RNA fragments called microRNAs (miRNAs), long thought of as genetic “junk,” actually control the production of endothelial cells, whose over-proliferation is responsible for the development of pulmonary hypertension (PH). The study, published in the Experimental Biology and Medicine journal, is titled “microRNA-125a in pulmonary…
Haifa, Israel-based Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. announced that it has received a notice from United Therapeutics Corporation ending its licensing agreement for development of the cell-based candidate PLX-PAD for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Under the agreement’s terms, Pluristem will recover full rights to PLX-PAD and retain all…
SteadyMed, a pharmaceutical company whose focus is the development of products to treat orphan diseases with unmet clinical needs, has announced promising results from an animal study evaluating the efficacy of its lead drug product Trevyent® in the reduction of the pain associated with the use of United Therapeutics’ Remodulin® to treat pulmonary…
In a new study, researchers determined that elevated serum bilirubin levels and a low 6-minute walk distance are predictors of poor prognosis in patients with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. The research — whose findings appear to offer important disease prognosis markers — is titled “Serum Bilirubin and 6-min Walk Distance as Prognostic Predictors…
Residents of the Canadian province of Ontario affected by pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) gathered at the Queen’s Park provincial legislature in Toronto this week in hope of convincing Ontario’s Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins to make the drug Opsumit (macitentan) publicly accessible as a treatment option for Ontario…
The Pulmonary Hypertension Association’s International PH Conference and Scientific Sessions is one of the largest gatherings on pulmonary hypertension (PH) worldwide, bringing patients, caregivers and top healthcare professionals together to share stories, exchange information, and network. Planning for the 2016 conference, to take place in Dallas, Texas, from June 17-19, is getting underway, and…
Over the last decade, new oral therapy agents in the form of pills used for the management and treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) have been integrated and improved, such as ERAs, PDE-5 inhibitors, and prostacyclin analogs. Oral PAH therapy is a positive development for patients, since it makes compliance with…
Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of rare diseases and conditions with ineffective treatments, announced that ubenimex, a drug developed as a pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) therapy, has been granted Orphan Drug Status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Ubenimex, also…
A new retrospective study of computed tomographies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients shows that chest CT has value as a diagnostic tool for COPD and its comorbidity pulmonary hypertension (PH). The research paper, entitled “Computed tomography measurement of pulmonary artery for diagnosis of COPD and its comorbidity…
A new survey sponsored by Bayer has revealed that many physicians report a lack of familiarity with a condition called chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). The 2015 Bayer PH Physician Survey was released on November 24 to help draw attention to CTEPH and the need for stepped-up education efforts to improve…
A recent perspective study explores catheter therapies as an alternative treatment for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) who do not respond well to traditional medication. The paper, written by a researcher from the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, is titled “Catheter-Based Therapies for Patients With…
