News

Suppressing CD248, a cell surface protein, reduced pulmonary vascular remodeling — the key structural alteration in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) — in a rat model of the disease. CD248 was found to promote PAH-associated abnormal growth and migration of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), the cells that line the…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted SoniVie permission to begin a pivotal clinical trial of its Therapeutic Intra-Vascular Ultrasound (TIVUS) System in people with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This “study will provide important information on the safety and efficacy of the TIVUS System in…

New variants in the DNA region that promote the activity of the BMPR2 gene — associated with familial pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) — lower the gene’s activity and may contribute to the condition in some families, a study…

Elevated levels of the protein IGFBP2 were identified in the blood of people with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and found to be associated with lower physical function, higher arterial blood pressure, and an increased mortality risk, a study reports.  …

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…