From PHA’s Scientific Sessions, a Time for
Reflection on the Progress Toward a Cure
A few years after I began to work in the field of PH with my mentor,
Dr. Bruce Brundage, I missed what would have been my 1st International
PHA conference in 1998: my son was born 2 days before the meeting
started. At the time I did not know what I would be missing. At the
following PHA conference, I found out what all the fuss was about.
In 2000, over 700 patients, caregivers, practitioners and researchers
converged on a sold-out hotel in suburban Chicago, and everyone poured
their hearts (and minds) out to better the PH community. Children wearing
backpacks with IV pumps inside, patients parading on stage showing
off the latest pump-concealing fashions, and PH experts volunteering their time and
expense to inform, teach and learn about PH were among the many highlights of that and
each subsequent meeting I attended. To say that the biennial International Conferences
and Scientific Sessions of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association are one of the most
emotionally draining yet inspirational and uplifting events in the lives of anyone involved
in PH would be a major understatement. This issue’s coverage of the most recent PHA
meeting, the 8th International Conference and Scientific Sessions of the Pulmonary Hypertension
Association thus holds a special place in my heart. Dr. Karen Fagan, Guest Editor
of this issue and Chair of the PHA Scientific Sessions held in Houston last June, did a
fantastic job putting together an entire issue devoted to the Conference, in which over
1100 people from 17 different countries attended. From original scientific contributions
to an expert Roundtable, all focused on the Scientific Sessions, plus an international
commentary on PH and connective tissue disease issues covered in the last Summer issue
of Advances, I am sure you too will learn and hopefully be inspired to attend the next
International Conference.
Ronald J. Oudiz, MD
Editor-in-Chief
Guest Editor’s Commentary
As Guest Editor for this issue of Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension,
I looked forward to reviewing the submission of manuscripts because
I knew the content would reflect the exciting agenda we put together
for the third Scientific Sessions held in conjunction with the 2008
Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) International Conference
in Houston. As Chair of the Scientific Sessions Committee I had the
privilege of overseeing the scope of the program and helping to coordinate
content development. For readers who were fortunate enough to
attend, the Scientific Sessions and conference once again offered an
outstanding opportunity to meet with specialists in PH and explore why this program offers
clinicians so much to think about and apply in their practices as they explore translational
research in this disease.
As researchers, we are always impressed and encouraged by the pace of work on this
disease throughout the world and our content in this issue demonstrates some of the
progress we are making in gaining a better understanding of the pathophysiology of PH,
its mechanisms and treatment. Despite the progress in this regard, the attendance at the
Conference by hundreds of patients and their families who signed up for the patient
portion of he program reminded us of how much further we need to go before we can say
we have a cure for PH. In achieving that goal, there will be numerous incremental steps
such as the reports in this publication that serve as benchmarks for how far we have come
on this huge journey.
In this issue of the journal we express our gratitude to the following authors for their
contributions to the growing body of knowledge on the disease: Heiko Bugger, MD, PhD
and E. Dale Abel, MD, PhD, Paul M. Hassoun, MD, Kurt Stenmark MD, Hunter C. Champion,
MD, PhD, and Ivan F. McMurtry, PhD. I woud also like to thank the participants in
the Pulmonary Hypertension Roundtable Discusssion, including Todd Bull, MD, Omar
Minai, MD, and Dr McMurtry.
Karen A. Fagan, MD
Articles
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension,
Autumn 2008, Vol. 7, No. 3
Editor-in-Chief Richard Channick, MD
Professor of Clinical Medicine
Pulmonary and Critical Care Division
University of California, San Diego Medical Center
San Diego, California
Immediate Past Editor Ronald J. Oudiz, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Director, Liu Center for Pulmonary Hypertension
LA Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Editor-in-Chief Elect Erika Berman Rosenzweig, MD
Director, Pulmonary
Hypertension Center, Columbia University Medical Center Associate
Professor of Clinical Pediatrics (in Medicine)
Associate Editors
Kristin Highland, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine
Medical University Of Carolina
Francisco Soto, MD, MS
Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Program
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin
Todd Bull, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Robert Schilz, DO, PhD
Medical Director of Lung
Transplantation and Pulmonary Vascular Disease
University Hospital of Cleveland
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio
Publisher
Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Carl Hicks, Board Chair
Rino Aldrighetti, President
Sherrie Borden, Vice President, Medical and Patient Education
Publishing Staff Managing Editor
Deborah L. McBride
McBride Strategic Services
mcbridedeb@aol.com
P: 773-348-5455
C: 312-307-5455
Design Director
Michael McClain
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension is circulated to
cardiologists, pulmonologists, rheumatologists and other selected
physicians by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. The contents of the articles are independently determined by the Editor
and the Editorial Advisory Board.
Editorial Mission Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension is committed
to help physicians in their clinical decision
making by informing them of important
trends affecting their practice. Analyzing the
impact of new findings and covering current
information in the peer-reviewed literature,
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension is published
four times a year. Advances in Pulmonary
Hypertension is the official journal
of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.
Each article in this journal has been reviewed
and approved by members of the Editorial
Advisory Board.
Editorial Board
Charles Burger, MD
Medical Director, PH Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Jacksonville, FL
Karen Fagan, M.D. Chief, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine University of South Alabama
Eli Gabbay, MD
Lung Transplant Unit
Royal Perth Hospital
Nick Kim, M.D.
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine
University of California San Diego
Deborah Jo Levine, M.D.
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
San Antonio, TX
Omar Minai, MD
Dept of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine
Myung Park, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Fernando Torres, MD Director Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic
UTSW Medical Center Dallas
University Hospital
Glenna Traiger, RN, MSN
Pulmonary & Critical Care
Pulmonary Hypertension CNS
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
R. James White, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology & Physiology
University of Rochester, Division of Pulmonary and CCM
Roham Zamanian, MD
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Stanford University Medical Center
The
information provided on the PHA website is provided for general information
only. It is not intended as legal, medical or other professional
advice, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultations
with qualified professionals who are familiar with your individual
needs.
A few years after I began to work in the field of PH with my mentor,
Dr. Bruce Brundage, I missed what would have been my 1st International
PHA conference in 1998: my son was born 2 days before the meeting
started. At the time I did not know what I would be missing. At the
following PHA conference, I found out what all the fuss was about.
In 2000, over 700 patients, caregivers, practitioners and researchers
converged on a sold-out hotel in suburban Chicago, and everyone poured
their hearts (and minds) out to better the PH community. Children wearing
backpacks with IV pumps inside, patients parading on stage showing
off the latest pump-concealing fashions, and PH experts volunteering their time and
expense to inform, teach and learn about PH were among the many highlights of that and
each subsequent meeting I attended. To say that the biennial International Conferences
and Scientific Sessions of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association are one of the most
emotionally draining yet inspirational and uplifting events in the lives of anyone involved
in PH would be a major understatement. This issue’s coverage of the most recent PHA
meeting, the 8th International Conference and Scientific Sessions of the Pulmonary Hypertension
Association thus holds a special place in my heart. Dr. Karen Fagan, Guest Editor
of this issue and Chair of the PHA Scientific Sessions held in Houston last June, did a
fantastic job putting together an entire issue devoted to the Conference, in which over
1100 people from 17 different countries attended. From original scientific contributions
to an expert Roundtable, all focused on the Scientific Sessions, plus an international
commentary on PH and connective tissue disease issues covered in the last Summer issue
of Advances, I am sure you too will learn and hopefully be inspired to attend the next
International Conference.
