News

Same But Different, a nonprofit U.K. group that uses art for social change, is inviting people to choose their favorite photographs in a calendar contest to heighten awareness of rare diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The organization’s panel of judges has pared the number of contest submissions…

For the first time, the long-term use of antipsychotic medications has been linked to the development of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), a case study reports.  The authors recommend that CTEPH should be considered in patients who receive antipsychotics and also have symptoms associated…

An imbalance in the composition of bacteria living in the gut, a phenomenon known as dysbiosis, may play a key role in the onset and progression of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a study in animals suggests. The study, “Gut microbiota modification suppresses the development of…

Janssen Pharmaceutical has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve the use of intravenous Uptravi (selexipag) by pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients unable for a given time to use Uptravi as a prescribed oral treatment. The intravenous, or IV (into-the-vein), formulation is meant to prevent treatment interruptions…

Letairis (ambrisentan), an approved therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in adults, appears to also be effective and safe in children ages 8 and older, a study based on clinical trial data reports. All doses tested were well tolerated by children with PAH, and Letairis’ benefit-risk profile was similar to…

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) may be induced by an increased dosage of diazoxide, a therapy used to treat low blood sugar, a case report suggests. The study highlights the need for regular echocardiograms (ECG) during diazoxide treatment to detect PH early. The report, “Pulmonary Hypertension Following Increased…

Rare variants of the ABCC8 gene were found among pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients in Spain, a study reports. The variants, or mutations, are predicted to alter the SUR1 protein that the ABCC8 gene provides instructions to make, but exactly how these variants might affect PAH remains unknown.

A new virtual tool, called VEST, is aiding clinicians in remotely diagnosing people with Group 1 pulmonary hypertension (PH) per the World Health Organization (WHO) classification, a new study reports. VEST, short for virtual echocardiography screening tool, uses images from routine echocardiography exams of a person’s heart to…

Moderna has entered a collaboration agreement with Chiesi Farmaceutici to develop new messenger RNA-based therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are the molecules that cells use as a template to make proteins; specifically, mRNAs carry the genetic code from DNA to the protein-making…

The combination of Opsumit (macitentan) and Adcirca (tadalafil) is a safe and effective initial treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), new clinical trial data show. The findings were published in the European Respiratory Journal, in the study, “Initial combination therapy of macitentan and tadalafil…

Delayed diagnosis, limited resources, and a lack of awareness compound barriers to care for people with pulmonary hypertension (PH) in low- and middle-income countries, a recent review found. The finding highlights the need for better patient advocacy across all levels of care, more affordable diagnostic tools, and improved awareness,…

People with intermediate-risk pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) who failed to respond adequately to phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE5i) show significant benefits when transitioned to Adempas (riociguat) treatment, a Phase 4 trial has found. A total of 41% of patients who made that transition experienced significant clinical improvements, compared with…