A previous study identified an increased risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) in mothers taking the most prescribed class of antidepressant medications in the second half of pregnancy, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). As a result, in 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a public health advisory on a…
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UT Southwestern Medical Center recently announced that it has performed its 500th lung transplant, placing it in an exclusive group that includes fewer than 25 American medical institutions. Lung transplantation is often the only option for patients who suffer from life-threatening conditions, such as pulmonary hypertension (PH) or cystic…
Acute pulmonary arterial hypertension can result from metastatic cancer complications. Pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy (PTTM), which is one of these complications, occurs in 1.4% of patients who die of cancer, and death is due to right heart strain and cardiorespiratory arrest. Unfortunately, PTTM is difficult to diagnose in patients, as…
The progress of two promising experimental PAH therapies has led one of the two drug development companies working on them to part ways with a board member in order to avoid a conflict of interest. Mast Therapeutics, Inc. recently announced the resignation of Jack Lief from its board of directors.
Two theories behind the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) converge on the protein known as the master transcription factor forkhead box O1 (FoxO1). Leaders in the field of PAH research are excited about the notion that addressing master transcription factors may integrate the metabolic and inflammatory theories behind PAH,…
Worldwide, more than 64 million people are affected by Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) according to the World Health Organization, and in 2030 the condition will be third leading cause of mortality. COPD causes lung scarring, also called pulmonary fibrosis. The condition has no cure, and once the scarring has occurred,…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the extended use of a VMS Heart Analysis system developed and commercialized by the company VentriPoint Diagnosis, which is currently used in patients who suffer from pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). According to the…
The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA), the US’s leading fundraising and advocacy group for funding scientific research to discover new ways to prevent and cure pulmonary hypertension (PH), will celebrate its 25th Anniversary in 2016. In celebration of that milestone and to continue the fight against the disease, the PHA has announced that…
Scleroderma has often been associated with a higher risk of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in previous research. This is because in patients with scleroderma, there is progressive blood vessel contraction (narrowing) that often leads to an increase in blood pressure in the lungs, which can in turn develop into PAH. This progression from…
In a case study published in the International Journal of Cardiology, a team of researchers from China reported the case of a 23-year-old woman with the absence of a right pulmonary artery and patent ductus arterioles who developed severe pulmonary hypertension. The researchers found that the use of …
Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) are at an increased risk for mortality due to concurrent pulmonary hypertension or interstitial lung disease. While pulmonary hypertension results in right-sided heart failure, interstitial lung disease results in extensive lung fibrosis. It may be possible to test for lung scarring using high resolution computed…
Representatives from Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals presented findings at the American Thoracic Society’s (ATS) 2015 International Conference that suggest pulmonary hypertension is more prevalent in patients with pulmonary embolisms than was previously thought. Although the rate may be at least twice as high as previously identified, many patients do not undergo the…
