What Causes Pulmonary Hypertension and How Can it be Treated?

Introduction

Pulmonary hypertension is a rare but serious disease that affects the blood vessels in the lungs. Blood pressure in the lungs is usually lower than in the rest of the body, but pulmonary hypertension occurs when the blood vessels in the lungs contract, causing the smooth muscle layer surrounding these vessels to thicken, making it harder for the heart to pump blood through the lungs. This article explores the causes of pulmonary hypertension and how it can be treated using alternative medicines.

The Causes of Pulmonary Hypertension

The cause of pulmonary hypertension is usually unclear, which makes it difficult to treat. Pulmonary hypertension can be classified into two categories: primary and secondary. Primary pulmonary hypertension is typically caused by genetic mutations, while secondary pulmonary hypertension is caused by another underlying health condition, such as heart disease or lung disease.

Research has proven that a few pathways within the cells are responsible for the signal transmission leading to vasoconstriction in the blood vessels in the lungs. Studies have shown that Gq proteins are involved in many of these pathways, making them a good target for intervention.

The Treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension

Current drugs used to treat pulmonary hypertension usually block individual receptors or signaling pathways that transmit the signal to constrict the pulmonary vessels. But since numerous vasoconstrictors are involved in this process, blocking just one of them isn’t very effective.

Recent approaches focus on targeting these pathways at a later stage in signal transmission. Researchers from Systems Physiology at Ruhr University Bochum have found that targeting Gq proteins could be promising to treat pulmonary hypertension using alternative medicine.

Ardisia crenata, commonly known as ‘Christmas berry,’ is a houseplant that contains the substance FR, which has an effect on Gq proteins. Tests on isolated pulmonary vessels from mice showed that FR effectively relaxed the vessels, as did further tests on tissue from pigs and human samples.

Experiments on mice with pulmonary hypertension showed that treatment with FR alleviated the symptoms and improved their health. The muscle layer around the pulmonary vessels decreased or did not increase. The researchers observed few side-effects in the mice tested, only a slight drop in blood pressure throughout the body, which may even be beneficial in treating pulmonary hypertension.

Conclusion

Pulmonary hypertension is a rare and serious disease. Although the causes are still unclear, recent studies have shown promising results using alternative medicines. Targeting Gq proteins with the use of FR, a substance that is commonly found in Ardisia crenata, is one of the latest methods that have improved symptoms and health conditions in experimental animals. However, further research and testing are required before this promising solution is ready for clinical purposes.

Originally Post From https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1050594

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