Impact of Epicardial Adipose Tissue on Right Cardiac Function and Prognosis in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Background: Although epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is linked to effects on survival in left-sided heart failure, the association between EAT and right-sided heart failure caused by pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) remains unknown.

Research Question: What are the potential impacts of EAT volume (EATV) on right ventricular function, biomarkers of myocardial injury, and long-term prognosis in patients with PAH?

Study Design And Methods: A total of 135 age- and BMI-matched patients with PAH and 49 control participants were included in this study. EATV was quantified by using cardiac magnetic resonance and was related to clinical correlates, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, and cardiac function.

Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease in Sjogren's syndrome: a case report.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with connective tissue disease (CTD) belongs to Group 1 pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD), which is characterized by venous system aberrations, has been previously reported in CTD-PAH; however, it has rarely been observed in Sjogren's syndrome (SS).

Case Presentation: Our 28-year-old female patient was admitted to the hospital with recurrent shortness of breath even after minimal physical activity.

Thromboxane-Prostanoid Receptor Signaling Drives Persistent Fibroblast Activation in Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Although persistent fibroblast activation is a hallmark of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), mechanisms regulating persistent fibroblast activation in the lungs have not been fully elucidated. On the basis of our observation that lung fibroblasts express TBXA2R (thromboxane-prostanoid receptor) during fibrosis, we investigated the role of TBXA2R signaling in fibrotic remodeling. We identified TBXA2R expression in lungs of patients with IPF and mice and studied primary mouse and human lung fibroblasts to determine the impact of TBXA2R signaling on fibroblast activation.

Differential serum lipid distribution in IPAH and CHD-PAH patients.

Lipid homeostasis is dysregulated in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). A decrease in serum high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C and LDL-C) is significantly associated with the worse prognosis of PAH. However, no study has investigated the differential distribution of lipids in various PAH subtypes.