Scientists from the University of California, Davis, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pennsylvania have developed an experimental drug for pulmonary arterial hypertension that is now considered incurable. The research was published in the journal Science Signal.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension develops when the small arteries in the lungs become less elastic. Pulmonary hypertension increases the risk of developing dangerously high blood pressure, heart failure, and permanent damage to the lungs and making it difficult to breathe.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension is partially caused by the overgrowth of smooth muscle cells in the pulmonary arteries. In a new study, scientists demonstrated the effectiveness of the experimental drug SRT2104 in the treatment of mice with a model of pulmonary hypertension. This drug increases the level of the TSC2 protein, which inhibits the growth of smooth muscle cells.
The scientists also tested the drug’s effect on lung tissue samples from 16 patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
SRT2104 is being studied as a potential treatment for a wide variety of other conditions, including type 2 diabetes, psoriasis, and dyslipidemia.
Source: Gazeta
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