May 29, 2008

• Data From Pivotal Phase III Studies Of Gilead's Letairis(R) For PAH (WHO Group 1) In Patients With WHO Functional Class II Or III Symptoms Published In Circulation
  (Gilead) -- Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that data from the pivotal Phase III ARIES-1 and ARIES-2 studies of Letairis(R) were published in Circulation online before print. Letairis (ambrisentan 5 mg and 10 mg tablets) is indicated as a once-daily treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) (WHO Group 1) in patients with WHO functional class II or III symptoms to improve exercise capacity and delay clinical worsening.
  

•   Life Is A Gift For Melissa
  (Tamworth Northern Daily Leader) -- Melissa Townsend is certain that without the pair of lungs she was gifted with nearly three years ago she would be dead.
  

• 20 Years After Transplant, Claire Sylvia Celebrates Life With "Family Of My Heart''
  (The Patriot Ledger) -- As the 20th anniversary of that operation approaches, Sylvia is talking about her contribution to the study of something a bit more mysterious: organ recipients who have taken on characteristics of the donors.
  

•   Program Provides Lung Rehab Remotely
  (Reuters) -- A program that uses video-teleconferencing, the internet and other technologies to deliver lung rehabilitation remotely to people with the chronic lung disease COPD who live in rural areas helps them breathe more easily and get more out of life, researchers have found.
  

• Maryland Camp Gives Cardiac-Care Children The Gift Of Summer
  (Cleveland Examiner) -- Chestertown resident Rhonda Cataldo raises money for Dragonfly Heart Camp, tailor-made for children ages 7 to 17 who have been diagnosed with heart disease or pulmonary hypertension.
  

• Drug For Deadly Lung Disease Shows Promise
  (HealthDay News) -- Patients with a progressive fibrosis of the lungs that's fatal within a few years of diagnosis may finally have some reason for hope.
  

• Treprostinil Data Presented At ATS Conference Demonstrates Significant Clinical Progress In All Four Routes Of Administration
  (United Therapeutics) -- United Therapeutics Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary Lung Rx, Inc. today announced that data from seven presentations concerning the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension with treprostinil were reported at the American Thoracic Society meeting in Toronto, Ontario. The ATS presentations involved treprostinil delivered by inhaled, oral, intravenous and subcutaneous routes of administration.
  

• Sleep Apnea In Toddlers Hard On The Heart
  (Reuters) -- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children younger than 3 years of age may strain the heart and cause inflammation, according to research discussed today at the American Thoracic Society's annual meeting in Toronto.
  

• Ex-Judge 'Embarrassed' Over Fen-Phen Case
  (Lexington Herald-Leader) -- Joseph "Jay" Bamberger testified that he should have kept himself better informed about what was going on in the case by demanding more detailed information from the attorneys involved.
  

• Voluntary Recall Of Some Lots Of Ventavis
  (Actelion) -- Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. is issuing this voluntary recall as a precaution to address the possibility of a manufacturing defect in the glass ampules that contain the drug in the above product lots (Lots #63227A, #63228A, #63230A, #63231A, and #63232A).
  

• Fen-Phen Plaintiffs Tell Their Side
  (Lexington Herald-Leader) -- A Lexington woman who was a plaintiff in a $200 million fen-phen class action settlement testified in federal court Tuesday that she specifically opposed plans by three lawyers in the case to donate leftover settlement money to charity.
  

• Abnormal 'Editing' Of Gene Messages May Be A Cause Of Lupus
  (Science Daily) -- Researchers at Wake Forest University have uncovered evidence that the abnormal "editing" of gene messages in a type of white blood cell may be behind the development of lupus. Scientists hope the finding will lead to earlier diagnosis, a way to monitor patients' response to therapy and possibly a new way to treat the disease.
  

• Jesse Edwards, Pathologist, Dies At 96
  (New York Times) -- Jesse Edwards was a pioneer in describing the effects of pulmonary hypertension, and his teaching may have been even more valuable than his publications.
  

• Gilead Announces New Letairis® Data for the Treatment of Patients With PAH
  (Gilead) -- Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:GILD) today announced results of a post-hoc analysis of data collected during the ARIES-1, ARIES-2 and ARIES-E studies for Letairis® in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) (WHO Group 1) patients with primarily WHO functional class II or III symptoms.
  

• Nexavar Helped In Pulmonary Hypertension Study
  (Science Daily) -- A drug developed to fight cancer is showing early promise as a treatment for pulmonary hypertension, researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center report May 19 at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in Toronto, Canada.
  

• Depression, PTSD Common Among Lung Transplant Patient Caregivers
  (HealthDay News) -- They're 4 to 5 times more likely to suffer symptoms, but trained counselors could help.
  

• Google Offers Personal Health Records On The Web
  (New York Times) -- The Internet search giant’s service, Google Health, at google.com/health, is the latest entrant in the growing field of companies offering personal health records on the Web. Their ranks range from longtime online health services like WebMD to the software powerhouse Microsoft to start-ups like Revolution Health.
  

• Improved Outcomes In Medically And Surgically Treated Chronic Thromboembolic PH
  (redOrbit) -- Rationale: The management of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) has changed over recent years with the growth of pulmonary endarterectomy surgery and the availability of disease- modifying therapies. Objectives: To investigate the prognosis of CTEPH in a national setting during recent years.
  

• Identification Of Target Antigens Of Antifibroblast Antibodies In PAH
  (redOrbit) -- We aimed to use a proteomic approach combining two- dimensional (2-D) electrophoresis and immunoblotting, with normal human fibroblasts used as a source of self-antigens, to identify the target antigens of AFAs in patients with IPAH, FPAH, Dex-PAH, and SSc-PAH
  

• Pulmo BioTech Announces Details Of The Methodology For Its Phase I Human Trials
  (Fox) -- Pulmo BioTech Inc. has announced details of the methodology and purpose of its Phase I Human Trials with its PulmoBind Molecular Imaging technology for the diagnosis of Pulmonary Embolism and Pulmonary Hypertension.
  

• Air Travel Taxes Hearts Of People With Sleep Apnea
  (HealthDay News) -- People with obstructive sleep apnea clearly have increased metabolic demands during air travel, Seccombe said. "For many who have heart or other vascular disease, this may place them at increased risk of cardiac events such as heart attack or arrhythmia, but the extent of that risk is uncertain," she said.
  

• Green Tea May Shield Brain From Sleep Apnea Effects
  (Reuters) -- Compounds found in green tea may help ward off the neurological damage that can come with the breathing disorder sleep apnea, a new animal study hints.
  

• A Dream Come True
  (Martins Ferry Times Leader) -- “This has been my lifelong dream,” said the Shadyside area woman who suffers from pulmonary hypertension. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted. I want to see him up close, to touch him and talk to him. I really want to have my picture taken with him!”

• Transplantation Criteria For Patients With Severe PH And Grossly Impaired Right, But Relatively Normal Left Ventricular Function
  (Medscape) -- What are the criteria used for lung or heart-lung transplantation in patients with severe pulmonary hypertension with grossly impaired right ventricular (RV) function but relatively normal left ventricular (LV) function?
  

• Terguride Receives FDA Orphan Drug Designation For The Treatment Of PAH
  (Earthtimes) -- Ergonex Pharma today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to Terguride for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Terguride is currently being evaluated for PAH in a pivotal Phase II trial in Europe.
  

• Formula For Fen-Phen Money Outlined
  (Lexington Herald-Leader) -- An attorney who worked with the defendants in a $200 million fen-phen class-action suit testified Wednesday that he was told to offer plaintiffs in the case settlement amounts below those outlined in a funding formula he prepared.
  

• Attorneys In Fen-Phen Trial Point Finger At Others
  (Louisville Courier-Journal) -- Attorneys for three lawyers accused of bilking their clients out of $65 million in Kentucky’s fen-phen case today blamed others for the alleged fraud — with one of them saying his client, Melbourne Mills, was too drunk at the time to be responsible.
  

• Transplant Patient Leads Way In Fight Against Lung Disease
  (Times Online) -- Stem cells have the potential to cure many conditions, writes Toby Murcott.
  

• HIV, But Not HHV-8, Found To Increase Risk Of PAH
  (aidsmap) -- Higher pulmonary artery systolic pressure levels – an independent risk factor for pulmonary arterial hypertension – have been found in an HIV-positive study group, as compared to HIV-negative controls. However, no association with human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) infection was found. The results were reported in the April 23rd issue of AIDS.
  

• Bye-Bye Biopsy?
  (Philadelphia Enquirer) -- Emerging alternatives make it possible for doctors to get inside information on patients without cutting.
  

• Since Their Mother Became Ill, Sisters Have Given Up Almost Everything Else To Care For Her
  (Valencia County News-Bulletin) -- Both Iesha and Teresa have been caring for their mom since the family found out Yvonne, who is just 38, had pulmonary hypertension. It's a rare disease that affects her lungs. The disease makes it hard for her to breathe and often leaves her so weak she can't get out of bed.
  

•   MPs Back Orphan Drug Proposal
  (Globe and Mail) -- Private member's motion M-426, which passed on Wednesday, requires the government to examine options for defining rare diseases and disorders, to consider creating a fund to improve access to treatments, and to explore ways to encourage drug research, Liberal MP Don Bell said yesterday.
  

• Easthampton Teen Receives Support For New Lungs
  (CBS3 Springfield) -- In March, we introduced you to Cassie Tessier. She is an Easthampton teen, struggling with a deadly disease. Her classmates organized a benefit dinner to offer some much needed financial support, and now the family is able to thank them publicly for their help.
  

• Oxygen to Be Easier To Use on Airplanes
  (Wall Street Journal) -- Federal regulators said they will expand protections for passengers with disabilities to cover international flights by U.S. carriers and make it easier for travelers to use oxygen equipment.
  

• UC San Diego Physician Receives Ellis Island Medal Of Honor
  (UCSD) -- Jamieson’s groundbreaking research and innovative therapies are known world-wide, such as his leadership of the UCSD Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy (PTE) Program. This program is foremost in the world in the successful treatment of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.
  

• NYC To Prep Potential Organ Donors Before Getting Consent
  (USA Today) -- New York City officials plan within months to dispatch the nation's first ambulance equipped to preserve bodies of the newly dead so that families have time to consider organ donation.
  

•   Lung Medicine Decision ‘Could Cost Lives’
  (The Herald) -- Hundreds of patients with a rare lung disorder could die and a Scottish centre of excellence in treating the condition could be threatened as a result of a decision by the medicines regulator for England and Wales, according to campaigners.
  

• Potential Role Of Statin Use In Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
  (redOrbit) -- In addition, in a letter to the editor from a previous issue, Fadini and colleagues questioned the potential benefit of statins in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) based on their results that showed marked depletion of endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) in IPF patients, which was more severe in the presence of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), in comparison with control subjects.
  

• Gilead Initiates Letairis(R) Phase IV Program
  (Gilead) -- Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced the initiation of ATHENA-1, a Phase IV, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating Letairis(R) (ambrisentan 5 mg and 10 mg tablets) in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) demonstrating a sub-optimal response to sildenafil monotherapy.
  

• Even The Insured Feel Strain Of Health Costs
  (New York Times) -- The economic slowdown has swelled the ranks of people without health insurance. But now it is also threatening millions of people who have insurance but find that the coverage is too limited or that they cannot afford their own share of medical costs.
  

• Diagnosis Of PAH In A Patient With Systemic Sclerosis
  (Medscape) -- This case highlights the challenges and limitations of diagnosing PAH in individuals with SSc.
  

• Autoimmune Diseases And Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
  (Medscape) -- How does pulmonary arterial hypertension occur in autoimmune diseases? Does it occur in all autoimmune diseases or in just a select few?
  

• Pulmonary Pressure Linked To Death In Acute Chest Syndrome Of Sickle Cell Disease
  (Medscape) -- Pulmonary pressure elevation is common during severe acute chest syndrome in patients with sickle cell disease and is associated with a higher risk of death, French researchers say.
  

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