Dichloroactate for Pulmonary Hypertension

在健康的情况下，血液在低压下从心脏自由地流过肺部。在一种称为肺动脉高压（PAH）的疾病中，血管狭窄，这会导致心脏背压，导致心力衰竭过早死亡。特发性肺动脉高压（IPAH）没有已知的原因，通常影响育龄妇女。目前的治疗方法并不令人满意。该项目将研究一种全新的方法。它将研究一种名为二氯醋酸盐（DCA）的药物，该药物通过改变分裂细胞中的能量产生来发挥作用。该研究将寻求早期证据，证明DCA可能会降低血液通过患者肺部的阻力，改善心脏功能，并包括特定的测试来确认其作用机制。这种药物价格低廉，已经可以供人类使用。如果这项研究的结果是令人鼓舞的，它将提供一个新的层面，IPAH的管理和刺激进一步的研究，在更大的患者群体。

In health, blood flows freely from the heart through the lungs at low pressure. In a disease called pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), the blood vessels are narrow and this causes a back pressure on the heart, leading to premature death from heart failure. Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) has no known cause and typically affects women of child bearing age. The current treatments are unsatisfactory. This project will examine an entirely new approach. It will investigate a drug called dichloroacetate (DCA) that acts by changing energy production in dividing cells. The study will seek early evidence that DCA might reduce the resistance to the passage of blood through the lungs of patients and improve heart function and include specific tests to confirm its mechanism of action. The drug is inexpensive and already available for human use. If the results of this study are encouraging, it will offer a new dimension to the management of IPAH and stimulate a further study in a larger patient population.