Significance of serum uric acid in pulmonary hypertension due to systemic sclerosis: a pilot study.

Systemic sclerosis is a connective tissue disease, which may lead to elevated pulmonary arterial pressure due to pulmonary arterial hypertension and/or left ventricular diastolic dysfunction. Uric acid (UA) has been shown to be elevated in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) and heart failure. We aimed to investigate the potent relationship between serum UA and pulmonary pressure as well as functional capacity in patients with SSc.

Left atrial volume and N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide are associated with elevated pulmonary artery pressure in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Early detection of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) is essential as it leads to substantial morbidity and mortality irrespective of its etiology. The aim of our study was to determine whether noninvasive biochemical and/or echocardiographic indices can predict the presence of PH in these patients. We prospectively studied 66 patients (mean age of 57.

N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide as a biochemical marker in the evaluation of bosentan treatment in systemic-sclerosis-related pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The purpose of our study was to investigate the effect of bosentan treatment on surrogate markers in patients with systemic-sclerosis-related pulmonary arterial hypertension (SScPAH). We studied ten SScPAH patients (nine female, median age 58 years, median duration of disease 9 years). Six-minute walk test (SMWT) and plasma N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels were recorded from patients at baseline and after 20 weeks under bosentan treatment.

Neurohormonal activation in patients with systemic sclerosis-related pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease, which may lead to pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH). N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a biologic marker for the diagnosis and treatment of congestive heart failure. The aim of our study was to investigate the potential role of the plasma NT-proBNP assay in the assessment of functional status and right heart performance in systemic sclerosis-related pulmonary hypertension (SScPAH).