Inhalant Therapy Possible for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Researchers have found that an inhalant might serve as a means of applying iloprost therapy to patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The iloprost inhalation solution was approved by the FDA in December 2004. The findings were from a follow-up study investigating the long-term safety, dosing, and clinical benefits of this therapy over a 2-year period. The study, involving 52 PAH patients, showed that inhaled iloprost was effective for the long-term treatment of PAH in affected patients, with 2-year data suggesting sustained benefit. Patients with primary or idiopathic PAH had a 2-year survival rate of 91%, compared with a predicted survival of 63% for similar yet untreated patients. This therapy, researchers claim, will provide physicians with a noninvasive treatment option when considering prostacyclin therapy for their PAH patients.