Dichloroactate for Pulmonary Hypertension

在健康状态下，血液以较低的压力从心脏自由地流经肺部。在一种名为肺动脉高压(PAH)的疾病中，血管狭窄，这会对心脏造成背压，导致心力衰竭导致过早死亡。特发性肺动脉高压(IPAH)病因不明，通常影响育龄妇女。目前的治疗方法并不令人满意。这个项目将研究一种全新的方法。它将研究一种名为二氯乙酸酯(DCA)的药物，该药物通过改变细胞分裂中的能量产生来发挥作用。这项研究将寻求早期证据，证明DCA可能会减少患者对血液通过肺部的阻力，并改善心功能，并包括特定的测试，以确认其作用机制。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令人鼓舞，它将为IPAH的管理提供一个新的维度，并鼓励在更大的患者群体中进行进一步的研究。

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.