Publications by authors named "Vallerie Mclaughlin"

Background: This analysis examined the effects of the activin signaling inhibitor, sotatercept, in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) subgroups stratified by baseline cardiac index (CI).

Methods: Pooled data from PULSAR (N = 106; NCT03496207) and STELLAR (N = 323; NCT04576988) were analyzed using 2 different CI thresholds, <2.0 and ≥2.

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Background: An increasing number of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) have cardiovascular comorbidities. However, the effects of comorbidities on responses to PAH treatment are not well understood.

Research Question: Do cardiovascular comorbidities in patients with PAH influence the efficacy and tolerability of inhaled or oral treprostinil?

Study Design And Methods: All patients from phase 3 studies TRIUMPH (N = 235) and FREEDOM-EV (N = 690) were included in this post hoc analysis and were classified as having 0, ≥1, or ≥2 cardiovascular comorbidities of interest based on patients' medical histories.

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  • The OPUS/OrPHeUS studies focused on patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) related to congenital heart disease (CHD), collecting data on their real-world clinical practices and treatment outcomes while starting on macitentan.
  • A total of 272 patients (6.1% of the population) were identified with CHD-PAH, where most were in moderate functional health categories, and many began macitentan as part of combination therapy; a high percentage experienced adverse events, but survival rates were relatively positive over one and two years.
  • The findings indicate that macitentan is commonly used in CHD-PAH patients, with its safety profile matching existing knowledge,
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  • Despite advancements in treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), patients still face high rates of illness and death.
  • Sotatercept, a new therapy that inhibits activin signaling, has been approved for PAH and shows promising efficacy and safety.
  • The review provides insights into how Sotatercept works, its benefits for patient wellbeing and survival, and its safety profile to better inform readers about this innovative treatment.
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Introduction: Historically, patients recently (≤ 6 months) diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH; incident) have had poorer survival than those with a longer (> 6 months) time from PAH diagnosis (prevalent). Despite guideline recommendations for initial combination therapy for most patients with PAH, many are initiated and maintained on monotherapy. Real-world evidence to evaluate the benefit of early combination treatment in newly-diagnosed patients is lacking.

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Background: The role of serotonin in pulmonary arterial hypertension has been extensively studied in recent decades, with preclinical data strongly indicating involvement in disease pathogenesis; however, clinical studies have yielded mixed results.

Methods: ELEVATE-2 was a phase 2b dose-ranging, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial investigating rodatristat ethyl as a treatment for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. The study was conducted at 64 sites across 16 countries in Europe and North America.

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Background: There is limited evidence to support treatment recommendations in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and comorbidities. To investigate the impact of riociguat treatment in this patient population, we analyzed pooled data from randomized controlled trials of riociguat.

Methods: This post hoc analysis included data from the PATENT-1, PATENT-2, PATENT PLUS, and REPLACE studies.

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Background: Mortality risk assessment informs clinical management of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The Registry to Evaluate Early and Long-Term PAH Disease Management (REVEAL) Lite 2 is a simplified risk calculator discriminating 1-year mortality risk.

Methods: This post-hoc analysis of the phase 3 GRIPHON study assessed changes in REVEAL Lite 2 risk score with selexipag versus placebo and whether changes were prognostic or predictive of time to first morbidity/mortality (M/M) event.

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Pulmonary arterial hypertension leads to significant impairment in haemodynamics, right heart function, exercise capacity, quality of life and survival. Current therapies have mechanisms of action involving signalling one of four pathways: endothelin-1, nitric oxide, prostacyclin and bone morphogenetic protein/activin signalling. Efficacy has generally been greater with therapeutic combinations and with parenteral therapy compared with monotherapy or nonparenteral therapies, and maximal medical therapy is now four-drug therapy.

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  • Balloon pulmonary angioplasty for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) faces challenges due to the need for safe devices to cross vascular lesions, prompting a study on the piercing properties of artery walls and CTEPH lesions.
  • In a lab experiment using specimens from nine patients, researchers measured the force required to penetrate artery walls and CTEPH lesions, finding that less force was needed for lesions compared to the arterial wall.
  • The study concluded that the arterial wall is delicate and can be damaged easily, but the lower force needed to cross CTEPH lesions suggests a potential safety margin for improving balloon pulmonary angioplasty procedures.
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  • Catheter-based treatments are becoming important for both acute and chronic pulmonary blood clots, making it essential to understand the anatomy of pulmonary arterial branches.* -
  • A study of 179 patients undergoing angiography showed a variety of branching patterns in the pulmonary arteries, with a total of 7 patterns in the right upper lobe, 3 in the right middle lobe, and so on across the left lobes.* -
  • Notably, only 2-3 branching patterns per lobe were responsible for over 90% of the observed variations, offering valuable insights for medical professionals and future research in pulmonary interventions.*
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  • Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a severe condition that requires intense treatment and monitoring, with ongoing efforts to improve low survival rates despite advancements over the past 30 years.
  • Recent research has introduced a new treatment pathway targeting activin signaling inhibition, which offers a different approach than traditional therapies that focus primarily on vasodilation.
  • This review explores how this new treatment fits into current PAH management strategies in the U.S., emphasizing its use in patients with existing health issues.
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Pulmonary hypertension associated with left heart disease (PH-LHD) remains the most common cause of pulmonary hypertension globally. Etiologies include heart failure with reduced and preserved ejection fraction and left-sided valvular heart diseases. Despite the increasing prevalence of PH-LHD, there remains a paucity of knowledge about the hemodynamic definition, diagnosis, treatment modalities, and prognosis among clinicians.

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Aims: According to current guidelines, initial monotherapy should be considered for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients with cardiopulmonary comorbidities. This analysis of combined data from the TRITON and REPAIR clinical trials, assesses efficacy and safety of initial double combination therapy in patients without vs. with 1-2 cardiac comorbidities.

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Background: The Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QuERI) in adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) was developed to improve detection of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) after repair of systemic-to-pulmonary arterial shunt lesions.

Objectives: This study sought to standardize use of accepted criteria for PAH diagnosis and evaluate utility in at-risk patients with ACHD.

Methods: Patients ≥18 years of age with ACHD repaired ≥1 year before enrollment and with additional risk factors for developing PAH were eligible.

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Background: Morbidity and mortality in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) remain high. Activation of platelet-derived growth factor receptor, colony stimulating factor 1 receptor, and mast or stem cell growth factor receptor kinases stimulates inflammatory, proliferative, and fibrotic pathways driving pulmonary vascular remodelling in PAH. Seralutinib, an inhaled kinase inhibitor, targets these pathways.

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AV-101 (imatinib) powder for inhalation, an investigational dry powder inhaled formulation of imatinib designed to target the underlying pathobiology of pulmonary arterial hypertension, was generally well tolerated in healthy adults in a phase 1 single and multiple ascending dose study. nhaled Iatinib ulmonary rterial ypertension linical rial (IMPAHCT; NCT05036135) is a phase 2b/3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging, and confirmatory study. IMPAHCT is designed to identify an optimal AV-101 dose (phase 2b primary endpoint: pulmonary vascular resistance) and assess the efficacy (phase 3 primary endpoint: 6-min walk distance), safety, and tolerability of AV-101 dose levels in subjects with pulmonary arterial hypertension using background therapies.

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Introduction: Data on real-world clinical practice and outcomes of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with connective tissue disease (CTD-PAH) are scarce. The OPUS/OrPHeUS studies enrolled patients newly initiating macitentan, including those with CTD-PAH. This analysis describes patient characteristics, treatment patterns, outcomes, and safety profiles of patients with CTD-PAH newly initiating macitentan in the US using the OPUS/OrPHeUS combined dataset.

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Balloon pulmonary angioplasty continues to gain traction as a treatment option for patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary disease with and without pulmonary hypertension. Recent European Society of Cardiology guidelines on pulmonary hypertension now give balloon pulmonary angioplasty a Class 1 recommendation for inoperable and residual chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Not surprisingly, chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension centers are rapidly initiating balloon pulmonary angioplasty programs.

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Introduction: Portopulmonary hypertension (PoPH) carries a worse prognosis than other forms of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Data regarding use of PAH-specific therapies in patients with PoPH are sparse as they are usually excluded from clinical trials. This analysis describes patient characteristics, treatment patterns, outcomes, and safety profiles in patients with PoPH newly initiating macitentan in the USA using the OPUS/OrPHeUS combined dataset.

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Article Synopsis
  • The DETECT algorithm is used to screen for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) using noninvasive data and guiding referrals for further testing.
  • A recent analysis showed that the performance of DETECT in identifying PAH risk using the updated 2022 ESC/ERS definitions was slightly less sensitive (88.2%) compared to the previous 2014 definitions (95.8%), but its specificity improved.
  • Despite the changes in PAH definitions, DETECT remains a valid tool for screening PAH in SSc patients, confirming its ongoing relevance in clinical practice.
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  • Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a serious disease, and the STELLAR trial evaluated the effects of sotatercept combined with background therapy (BGT) compared to placebo with BGT.* -
  • A Markov-type model was used to project long-term outcomes, showing that those receiving sotatercept plus BGT gained an average of 11.5 additional years of life expectancy and reduced hospitalizations and transplants compared to BGT alone.* -
  • The study concluded that sotatercept significantly improves the life expectancy of PAH patients while decreasing the need for infused prostacyclin and reducing hospital stays, but real-world validation of these results is necessary.*
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