News

The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) applauded the recent news that both Esbriet® (pirfenidone) and Ofev® (nintedanib) were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). These drugs are the first FDA-approved disease-specific therapies for IPF in the US.

The results from the randomized controlled AMBITION study to determine the efficacy of treating patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) with a combination of ambrisentan/tadalafil, when compared to ambrisenan or taladafil as monotherapies, were presented at this year’s European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress. Combination therapies are a form…

A new study on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) entitled “Echocardiographic Assessment of Estimated Right Atrial Pressure and Size Predicts Mortality in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension” was published in Chest by Dr. Christopher Austin, part of Dr. Brian Shapiro’s group from Division of Cardiovascular Disease at the…

Scientists continue to research the various environmental and lifestyle risk factors associated with PAH. Now, new research is revealing additional clues into how a person’s own genetics can predispose them to developing the disease. A recent review entitled “Genetics of pulmonary hypertension” published in November issue…

Quebec residents living with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) now have access to a breakthrough, publicly funded drug called Opsumit (macitentan), a once-a-day oral formulation of a dual endothelia receptor antagonist (ERA). On October 1, the Institut national d’excellence en santé et services sociaux (INESSS) recommended that the Régie de l’assurance maladie…

A protein within the glycolytic metabolism pathway, which is key to providing energy for cell processes, is increased in induced animal models of pulmonary arterial hypertension. This finding, reported in the journal Respiratory Research in an article entitled, “Up-regulation of Hexokinase 1 in…

When admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), chances are high that the patient has an existing condition in addition to the affliction causing their admittance to the ICU. It is vital that these existing conditions be considered by clinicians when developing a course of treatment, as many times…

A recent study, entitled “The use of antidepressants and the risk of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension,” which is set to be published in The Canadian Journal of Cardiology by Dr. Benjamin D. Fox, of the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology, Jewish General Hospital, and collaborators, addresses the…