French researchers retrospectively evaluated the haemodynamic trajectory of 62 patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) who sequentially received parenteral prostacyclins and sotatercept as part of the French early access program.
They found that both treatments lowered the resistance in the blood vessels of the lungs, making it easier for blood to flow.
However, the treatments worked in different ways:
- Prostacyclin treatment not only reduced the resistance in the lungs but also helped the heart pump more blood with each beat and increased the amount of blood pumped around the body.
- Sotatercept also reduced the resistance in the lungs, but it did not increase the amount of blood the heart pumped. In fact, there was a small decrease. Because the heart did not need to work as hard, the amount of work done by the right side of the heart also decreased.
The researchers believe these differences may be explained by the different ways the treatments work or by differences in the patients’ condition before starting sotatercept.
What does this mean for patients?
The results suggest that sotatercept may help by reducing the pressure and resistance in the blood vessels of the lungs, allowing the heart to do the same job with less effort, rather than by making the heart pump more blood.
More research is needed to better understand what these findings mean for patients in the long term.
Read more at this link in the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation
Citation
Genecand L, Boucly A, Beurnier A, Jaïs X, Degano B, Prevot G, Gerges C, Lamblin N, Bauer F, Savale L, Sitbon O, Chemla D, Humbert M, Montani D. Haemodynamic Responses to Sotatercept and Parenteral Prostacyclins in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Patients. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2026 Jun 1:S1053-2498(26)01936-4. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2026.05.028. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42229625.