Volume 9: Issue 3

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This past June I winged my way to my former home state, California, for PHA's 9^th International Conference and Scientific Sessions. As I rode in from the airport, past the uniquely Southern Californian strip malls and bungalows, I reflected on how much has changed in this meeting, and this disease.

What was once a small gathering of patients and caregivers is now a fully developed, multifaceted conference with “something for everybody.” Medically-led sessions, during which experts interact with patients, caregivers, and health care providers on virtually every PAH topic, provide the backbone of the Conference. Scientific Sessions, geared

Over the past decade, significant advances in treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients have occurred. These advances have come as a result of collective efforts by physicians, scientists, patient advocacy organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and public and private grants-awarding agencies. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) registry was instrumental in characterizing the devastating nature of this disease1 and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)-supported research on the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying basic pulmonary vascular tone regulation and abnormal vasoconstriction have been pivotal in identifying the therapeutic potential of the PAH drugs now in clinical practice. With the new therapies, the prognosis of PAH is improving and predictors of poor clinical prognosis have become better appreciated. However, better disease phenotyping, elucidating pathogenesis, and decreasing morbidity and mortality remain as research goals. The limitations of current therapeutic options necessitate that lung vascular and pulmonary hypertension research remains a high priority for the NHLBI.

The purpose of this overview is to provide a framework for understanding the fundamental mechanisms underlying the initiation and progression of pulmonary arterial hypertension and suggest a unifying concept that may better guide the development of therapies based on the central role of endothelial cell injury and loss by apoptosis.

A total of 69 abstracts were presented during the poster sessions at the Conference. The winning abstracts in Basic Science and Clinical Science were presented as oral abstracts during the scientific sessions and are included in this issue of Advances.

Highlights of the Scientific Sessions at PHA's International Conference

Editor's memo

What is the Current State of Stem Cell Research in PAH?

Inflammation in HIV-Associated Pulmonary Hypertension: Cause or Effect?

Growth Factors in Pulmonary Hypertension: Guilty Parties or Just Bystanders?

EARLY VASCULAR DEVELOPMENT

Update From the NHLBI on Lung Vascular and Pulmonary Hypertension Research

Endothelial Cells Caught in the Crosshairs of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Conference Abstracts

International Conference Scientific Sessions: Past, Present, and Future

Inpatient Prostacyclin Administration Errors: An Opportunity to Improve Patient Safety

Conference Abstracts

Guest Editor’s Memo

A Roundtable Discussion Addressing Patient-Centered Care and Quality of Life in Patients With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Editor’s Memo

Pulmonary Hypertension Associated With Parenchymal Lung Disease