Treatments for Pulmonary Hypertension: Lung Transplants
Many centers do not approve heart or lung transplants for Scleroderma patients, however, a few of them do, so contact the Second Wind Lung Transplant Association for further information.
First Mouse Lung Transplants Lay Groundwork For New Ways To Prevent Transplant Rejection In Humans. Surgeons have developed the first mouse model of lung transplantation, and they're hoping it will help explain why the success of the procedure in humans lags far behind other solid organ transplants. Five years after lung transplant surgery, only about 45 percent of patients are still alive. ScienceDaily. Washington University School of Medicine. 07/13/07.
Essential pulmonary arterial hypertension. The recent discovery of BMPR2, a dominant gene with weak penetrance, has opened up several interesting possibilities in this setting. Pathophysiological research has identified a fall in vasodilatory substances and an increase in vasoconstrictive mediators, opening the way to medical treatments that can postpone the need for lung transplantation. PubMed. Bull Acad Natl Med. 2005 Mar;189(3):523-33; discussion 533-4.
