As any scleroderma patient knows, the disease has no cure and no effective treatments exist. The main goal of current treatments is reducing inflammation which, often times, is not enough to provide relief to patients, especially those who have developed pulmonary hypertension as a result of thickened pulmonary arteries.
Scleroderma patients, who are sometimes affected by pulmonary hypertension, are becoming routinely treated with stem cell transplants. Dr. Dinesh Khanna, at the annual European Congress of Rheumatology, previewed the results of the Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation International Scerloderma…
The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) has granted 13 awards to projects led by committed community activists for their work in raising awareness for pulmonary hypertension (PH).  Tom Lantos Innovation in Community Service Awards are granted by the association in order to create opportunities within the PH community as well…
Any newly-diagnosed pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patient could probably testify to the hardships of having the disease, and new research provides concrete evidence of a substantial burden. More than half of these patients are hospitalized within three years of their diagnosis. Lead author Charles Burger, MD, from the Mayo…
Forced vital capacity, or FVC, is defined as the amount of air that can be forcibly exhaled from the lungs after taking the deepest breath possible. Patients suffering from systemic sclerosis, or scleroderma (a chronic systemic autoimmune disease) often undergo this type of spirometry testing to assess their status of…
A team of over twenty researchers recently found that patients with systemic sclerosis are at high risk to develop pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The study, published in the Seminars in Arthritis & Rheumatism, set out to understand the natural history of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in systemic sclerosis (Ssc),…
Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a privately held company located in Irving, Texas aiming to translate innovative research into breakthrough medicines for difficult-to-treat diseases that have significant unmet needs. Their approach specifically involves developing a novel class of drugs with potent transcriptional activity, called antioxidant inflammation modulators (AIMs), which can…
Putting an end to one familial case of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) without a known cause, a recent study published in New England Journal of Medicine investigated the mutation responsible for one family’s idiopathic PAH. Lead authors Lijang Ma, MD, PhD, and Danilo Roman-Campos, PhD, principal investigator…
In contrast to the typical image of heart patients running on treadmills and being hooked up to diagnostic machines while a doctor monitors their heart rate and oxygen consumption, a group of idiopathic pulmonary arterial heart (IPAH) patients cycled in a research study while being evaluated for blood pressure,…
Patients with pulmonary hypertension secondary to scleroderma (also known as systemic sclerosis) may not be properly assessed for interstitial lung disease through forced vital capacity (FVC) alone, according to Dr. Elizabeth Volkmann, of the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Volkmann, a rheumatologist, spoke at the annual European Congress…
Although pulmonary hypertension and chronic lung disease are usually associated with adults, some cases develop in infancy. Dina Ferdman, MD, from Columbia University Medical Center, is finding a way to treat infant patients, who were premature and have severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic lung disease, using…
Ventripoint Diagnostics‘ VMS, a new heart visualization system for cardiac MRI and 3D ultrasounds, was recently deemed an accurate method by a German group of researchers, the company announced on Monday. According to information available on Ventripoint’s website, VMS was originally designed for congenital heart disease, with subsequent…
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