This first-quarter 2008 issue marks the first time Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension will be offering continuing medical education
(CME) credit. We are pleased to make this service available
through the University of Michigan Medical School. Upon completing
the questions related to each topic, readers will be able to
claim up to 2.0 hours of CME credit while learning the latest
about pulmonary hypertension. This issue also kicks off our new
International Corner, with an initial commentary by Adam Torbicki,
MD, PhD, of Warsaw, Poland. His thoughts on the fourth-quarter 2007 issue are
provided in English and Polish.
It is hoped that these exciting additions will help further the study of pulmonary
hypertension across the globe. Working toward this goal, I hope you will join me at
PHA’s Eighth International PH Conference and Scientific Sessions this June in
Houston, Texas. With more than 60 scientific and clinical posters, four presentations
by distinguished investigators, and sessions for patients and family members, this
Conference is unique and not to be missed.
James Maloney, MD, the lead Guest Editor for this issue, with the assistance
of Todd Bull, MD, superbly edited the leading-edge content covering medical management,
clinical trials, and combination therapies. The first article by Jeremiah
Depta, MD, and Richard Krasuski, MD, reviews the recently updated American
College of Chest Physicians guidelines on medical management of pulmonary arterial
hypertension. The article by Zeenat Safdar, MD, covers ongoing phase 2 and phase 3
clinical trials that are likely to be completed soon and will potentially provide evidence
for new treatment options. Ioana R. Preston, MD, a member of the Advances
in Pulmonary Hypertension Editorial Board, covers the ever-changing and often contested
spectrum of combination drug therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension.
This paper is a comprehensive summary of available and emerging evidence, mostly
in support of using at least two different PAH drugs for additive and perhaps
synergistic effects on the pulmonary circulation.
Finally, a Roundtable Discussion led by Karen Fagan, MD, covers an increasingly
important consideration, namely, the use of pulmonary arterial hypertension therapy
in a broader group of patients than have been studied to date. This has important
implications for the patients in question, and also for future patient groups to be
targeted for treatment with PAH-specific drugs. Panel members included Kamal K.
Mubarak, MD, Zeenat Safdar, MD, Aaron Waxman, MD, PhD, and Roham T.
Zamanian, MD.
Ronald J. Oudiz, MD
Editor-in-Chief
Guest Editor’s Commentary
This issue of the journal offers a simultaneous look at our past and future in the
search for effective treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension. Thanks to an
ever-increasing number of randomized controlled trials, we now have the luxury of an
evidence-based approach to therapy. Yet, although these treatment paradigms have
improved patients’ symptoms and outcomes, it is undeniably clear that we still have
far to go. Combination therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension provides a new
and exciting approach with a growing body of evidence supporting its efficacy. At the
same time a number of novel agents are working their way through early phase trials.
It is truly an exciting time in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension as we
attempt to unlock the mysteries of this disease.
James Maloney, MD, Guest Editor
Associate Professor of Pulmonary and
Critical Care Medicine
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Denver, Colorado
Articles
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension,
Spring 2008, Vol. 7, No. 1
Editor-in-Chief Ronald J. Oudiz, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
UCLA School of Medicine
Director, Liu Center for Pulmonary Hypertension
Division of Cardiology
Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Torrance, California
Immediate Past Editor Vallerie V. McLaughlin, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Program
University of Michigan Health System
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Editor-in-Chief Elect Richard Channick, MD
Professor of Clinical Medicine
Pulmonary and Critical Care Division
University of California, San Diego Medical Center
San Diego, California
Associate Editors Erika Berman Rosenzweig, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Department of Pediatrics
Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons
New York, New York
Robert Frantz, MD
Consultant in Cardiovascular
Diseases and Internal Medicine
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
Rochester, Minnesota
Srinivas Murali, MD, FACC
Professor of Medicine
Drexel University College of Medicine
Director, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
Medical Director, Gerald McGinnis Cardiovascular Institute
Allegheny General Hospital
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Publisher
Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Jack Stibbs, Board Chair
Rino Aldrighetti, President
Donica Merhazion, Medical Services Associate Director
Publishing Staff
Stu Chapman, Executive Editor
Susan Chapman, Managing Editor
Heidi Green, Associate Editor
Gloria Catalano, Production Director
Michael McClain, Design Director
Editorial Offices
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension
DataMedica
424 Dune Road Westhampton Beach, NY 11978
Tel: 631-288-7733
Fax: 631- 288-7744
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 ly 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
Todd Bull, MD
Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Denver, Colorado
Murali Chakinala, MD
Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, Missouri
Kristin Highland, MD
Assistant Professor
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care
Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Jim Maloney, MD
Associate Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Denver, Colorado
Ioana Preston, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Tufts - New England Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts
Zeenat Safdar, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Department of Medicine, Pulmonary & Critical Care Section
Pulmonary Hypertension Center
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas
Rajan Saggar, MD
Assistant Professor
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care
Medicine and Hospitalists
David Geffen School of Medicine
UCLA
Los Angeles, California
Robert Schilz, DO, PhD
Medical Director of Lung
Transplantation and Pulmonary Vascular Disease
University Hospital of Cleveland
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio
Francisco Soto, MD, MS
Assistant Professor
Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Program
Medical College of Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Roxana Sulica, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Director, Beth Israel Pulmonary Hypertension Program
Beth Israel Medical Center
New York, New York
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.
This first-quarter 2008 issue marks the first time Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension will be offering continuing medical education
(CME) credit. We are pleased to make this service available
through the University of Michigan Medical School. Upon completing
the questions related to each topic, readers will be able to
claim up to 2.0 hours of CME credit while learning the latest
about pulmonary hypertension. This issue also kicks off our new
International Corner, with an initial commentary by Adam Torbicki,
MD, PhD, of Warsaw, Poland. His thoughts on the fourth-quarter 2007 issue are
provided in English and Polish.
