This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Napoli, C. Articles by Loscalzo, J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Napoli, C. Articles by Loscalzo, J. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Nitric Oxide and Other Novel Therapies for Pulmonary Hypertension

Department of Medicine, University of Naples, Naples, Italy

Joseph Loscalzo, MD, PhD, FACC

Evans Department of Medicine, Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts; Boston University School of Medicine, Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, 715 Albany Street, W507, Boston, MA 02118; jloscalz{at}bu.edu

Pulmonary hypertension is an uncommon, yet devastating, syndrome with a complex underlying pathobiology. Hypoxia, inflammation, and increased shear stress appear to be the primary pathogenic events; however, mechanisms by which these processes lead to pulmonary hypertension remain incompletely understood. The ultimate increase in pulmonary vascular resistance is attributed to remodelling of the walls of resistance vessels, which can lead to encroachment on and reduction of the vascular lumen. The number of blood vessels per unit of cross-sectional area in the hypertensive lung is also reduced, which can contribute to increased vascular resistance. Regardless of its etiology, endothelial dysfunction underlies pulmonary hypertension, one manifestation of which is the attenuated production of bioactive nitric oxide. Nitric oxide administration can exert beneficial effects at various stages of the disease. Here we review the known pathobiology of pulmonary hypertension, with a principal focus on endothelial nitric oxide, and also summarize the data on nitric oxide replacement therapy and other novel therapies that relate to nitric oxide as one approach to treatment.

Key Words: endothelial cell • hypoxia • primary pulmonary hypertension

Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1-8 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/107424840400900i101


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. F. Gonzales, F. A. Chung, S. Miranda, L. B. Valdez, T. Zaobornyj, J. Bustamante, and A. Boveris Heart mitochondrial nitric oxide synthase is upregulated in male rats exposed to high altitude (4,340 m) Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, June 1, 2005; 288(6): H2568 - H2573. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]