Melatonin, a natural hormone involved in sleep and believed to protect against cardiovascular diseases, may help to relieve the signs and symptoms of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), an early study in mice reports. In mice, melatonin protected lung blood vessels from damage, and inactivated proteins responsible for setting…
Tikosyn (dofetilide), a medicine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat heart arrhythmias, may be used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a recent study suggests. The findings warrant further investigation into the therapy’s potential positive effects for patients with PAH,…
Bioelectronic medicine is a promising new therapeutic approach to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to a recent review study. The review, “Pulmonary arterial hypertension: the case for a bioelectronic treatment,” was published in the journal Bioelectronic Medicine. Current treatments for PAH include medications that interfere with…
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is highly prevalent and linked to increased mortality and hospitalization among patients who underwent minimally invasive transcatheter mitral valve repair — the repair of the valve placed between the two chambers in the left side of the heart — according to a retrospective study. The study,…
With so much recent publicity surrounding gene therapy, it’s no surprise that the topic was a major focus of the recent 2019 NORD Rare Diseases & Orphan Products Breakthrough Summit. From diagnosis and clinical trial design to manufacturing, pricing strategies, and ethical concerns, gene therapy — both its high…
TriAxia Health is partnering with three academic medical centers to build a large database aiming for a better understanding of rare pulmonary diseases, beginning with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). To be meaningful, medical research often requires very large quantities of data. Bigger datasets give a study greater statistical…
Despite skyrocketing healthcare costs, President Trump is committed to protecting the 30 million or so Americans with rare diseases and ensuring timely, affordable access to lifesaving treatments, the nation’s highest-ranking health official said. “We have to think about how our financing system can protect those with serious and rare illnesses.
Children who undergo bone marrow transplants could develop pulmonary hypertension (PH), which could lead to severe complications if not diagnosed and treated promptly, a retrospective study found. The study, “Pulmonary hypertension after bone marrow transplantation in children,” was published in the European Respiratory Journal.
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing can improve the ability of an algorithm to identify systemic sclerosis patients who have pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a new study suggests. The study, “Cardiopulmonary exercise testing in a combined screening approach to individuate pulmonary arterial hypertension in systemic sclerosis,” was published in…
New preclinical data supports the positive effects of Liminal Biosciences’s lead candidate, PBI-4050, in reducing pulmonary hypertension and the abnormal enlargement of the heart’s right ventricle muscle. The company presented its latest data on two posters at the American Heart Association 2019 conference, held recently in Philadelphia. The…
Actelion Pharmaceuticals has withdrawn all ongoing worldwide requests for expanded approval of Opsumit (macitentan), a pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) medicine, to treat adults with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). The decision was not driven by any safety concerns, Actelion, one of …
Like many rare disease charities, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) was formed in 1991 by four women sitting around a kitchen table in Florida, hoping for a cure. Yet the PHA is probably the only patient advocacy group that actually preserved its original kitchen table and chairs — and made…
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