title: Novel putative pharmacological therapies to protect the right ventricle in pulmonary hypertension: a review of current literature.
abstract: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is defined by elevated mean pulmonary artery pressure following the pathological remodelling of small pulmonary arteries. An increase in right ventricular (RV) afterload results in RV hypertrophy and RV failure. The pathophysiology of PH, and RV remodelling in particular, is not well understood, thus explaining, at least in part, why current PH therapies have a limited effect. Existing therapies mostly target the pulmonary circulation. Because the remodelled RV fails to support normal cardiac function, patients eventually succumb from RV failure. Developing novel therapies that directly target the function of the RV may therefore benefit patients with PH. In the past decade, several promising studies have investigated novel cardioprotective strategies in experimental models of PH. This review aims to comprehensively discuss and highlight these novel experimental approaches to confer, in the long-term, greater health benefit in patients with PH.
authors.affiliation: Hatter Institute for Cardiovascular Research in Africa (HICRA) and MRC Inter-University Cape Heart Group, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Gerald J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Maarman
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.affiliation: Hatter Institute for Cardiovascular Research in Africa (HICRA) and MRC Inter-University Cape Heart Group, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sliwa
authors.affiliation: Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Centre, Member of the German Lung Centre (DZL), Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ralph Theo
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Schermuly
authors.affiliation: Hatter Institute for Cardiovascular Research in Africa (HICRA) and MRC Inter-University Cape Heart Group, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lecour
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017380:Hypertrophy, Right Ventricular / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D020011:Protective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D020011:Protective Agents