Research reveals new therapeutic approach for PAH

New research from scientists at the Université Paris-Saclay has revealed a novel approach to the cessation of arterial deterioration in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients.

PAH is a disease that is characterised by changes to the pulmonary arteries that go from the heart to the lungs. A currently available treatment for PAH is a drug called a vasodilator, which is used to relax the muscles in the blood vessels causing them to dilate. However, this treatment is not a cure and patients eventually end up requiring a lung transplant.

The team from Université Paris-Saclay has developed a new treatment for PAH based on research they performed on explanted human lungs, as well as in mice and rats. In their research the team discovered that NMDA — better known as a glutamate receptor in nerve cells — is present in lung vascular cells and causes obstruction of the pulmonary arteries (remodelling)

“Pharmacological inhibition of vascular NMDA receptors controls the disease’s progression,” explained Dr Sylvia Cohen-Kaminsky. “We now know to target NMDA receptors, which is completely different to existing therapies — and a step forward in treating this fatal disease.”

In addition to this discovery of the target, the university scientists are looking at the development of specific molecules that do not reach the brain to improve treatment safety. These new molecules should be able to target the lung vascular NMDA receptors without altering communication between neurons and as such be able to prevent deterioration of pulmonary arteries more safely.