Six members of the Alliance for Pulmonary Hypertension team—Ioanna Alysandratou, Pisana Ferrari, Mélanie Gallant-Dewavrin, Louise Bouman van der Waal, Hans-Dieter Kulla, and Laure Rosé—attended the 7th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension.
The event was both exciting and enriching, offering the privilege of networking with leading medical experts whose innovative work is driving new treatments and improving patient outcomes. Connecting with association members worldwide was equally inspiring, reinforcing our shared commitment to tackling this challenging condition. The symposium also allowed us to engage with industry representatives, fostering collaborations that will undoubtedly accelerate progress in pulmonary hypertension research and therapy.
Overall, the symposium highlighted the dynamic and collaborative spirit of the pulmonary hypertension community. We are honoured to have participated and are eager to apply the insights gained to continue advancing this crucial field.
Below, we’ve summarized some of the key takeaways from the Symposium, developed by the Alliance for Pulmonary Hypertension team at the World Symposium and validated by a member of the Alliance for Pulmonary Hypertension Scientific Committee.
- Patient Perspective Task Force 1
- This is a new development, it was created for the 2018 World Symposium.
- At this year’s edition Task Force 1 presented first at the opening session for the first time.
- The presentation generated a large number of questions from the audience.
- It set a collaborative and patient-focused tone for the meeting.
- The presentation was very well received and there some suggestions to go even further.
Read the Task Force 1 paper from the WSPH proceedings at this link on the European Respiratory Journal!
- Importance of Patient Insights:
- Mentioned in a number of sessions.
- E.g. in treatment goals, clinical trials, transplantation and CTEPH sessions.
- New Information and Data:
- Advancements in basic research.
- New scientific evidence.
- New discoveries supporting drug developments.
- Innovative Imaging Techniques:
- New task force.
- New techniques.
- Potential to complement or replace right heart cath if validated?
- If so, could significantly improve QOL for patients by reducing the need for invasive procedures.
- Treatment Algorithm:
- Proposed inclusion of sotatercept in algorithm.
- Possible alternative to IV and SC pumps for medium-high risk patients?
- Potential to enhance QOL by providing more convenient and less burdensome treatment options.
- Novel treatments:
- Tyrosine kinase inhibitors: seralutinib in phase 3.
- Activin signaling inhibitors: KER-012 in phase 2.
- PH management in special conditions
- New and more encouraging data on pregnancy which remains a high risk situation, especially in countries where expertise is less present and in patients with advanced disease.
- Discussions on palliative care and how to remove the stigma from the term.
- Mention of assisted dying.
- Influence of climate was a new topic and a very interesting one.
- Therapy adherence is a growing issue, because of the growing number of medications that people take (not only pulmonary hypertension related, also due to co-morbidities). Socioeconomic factors are important in this matter, just as psychosocial issues.
- Genetics and genomics:
- Clinical genetic counseling and testing should be offered for most Group 1 conditions and pediatric Group 3.
- Definition, classification and diagnosis
- Complex congenital heart disease is reintroduced in Group 5 due to multifactorial mechanisms.
- Clinical trials
- Discussions on multicomponent improvement indicator.
- Novel study designs.
- CTEPH
- A clear treatment strategy, with an algorithm including medication, PEA and BPA with new and increasingly positive data about PEA and BPA.
- Pediatric PH
- In children with PH 49% has Group 3 PH and 45% Group 1 PAH
- PAH in children has specificities as compared to adults
The proceedings of the World Symposium are now published and available at this link on the European Respiratory Journal.
Featured in this photo: Horst Olschewski, Ekkehard Gruenig, Andrea Olschewski, Prof. Dr.med., Gabor Kovacs, Gerald simonneau, Marc Humbert, Vallerie Mc Laughlin, Nazzareno Galié, Hiromi Matsubara, @Panagiotis Karyofillis, Laurent Bertoletti Marion Delcroix Anton Vonk Noordegraaf, Marianne Riou, David Kiely, Eva Otter and Monika Tschida, from PHA Europe, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association UK and Sociedad Latina de Hipertensión Pulmonar teams.