American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Dec 2018
Therapeutic Targeting of Vascular Remodeling and Right Heart Failure in PAH with HIF-2α Inhibitor.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a devastating disease characterized by progressive vasoconstriction and obliterative vascular remodeling that leads to right heart failure (RHF) and death. Current therapies do not target vascular remodeling and RHF, and result in only modest improvement of morbidity and mortality. ⋯ These findings demonstrate that pharmacological inhibition of HIF-2α is a promising novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of severe vascular remodeling and right heart failure in patients with PAH.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Dec 2018
Dynamic Upper Airway Imaging During Wakefulness in Obese Subjects with and without Sleep Apnea.
Obesity is a major risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea. Although greater dimensional changes in the upper airway during wake respiration have been noted in patients with apnea compared with control subjects, whether these differences remain in the presence of obesity is unknown. ⋯ Upper airway caliber during respiration was significantly narrower in obese subjects with apnea than obese control subjects in the retropalatal region. These findings provide further evidence that retropalatal airway narrowing plays an important role in the pathogenesis of obstructive sleep apnea in obese subjects.