ThirdAge Staff
Researchers have announced the discovery of the gene associated with the inherited form of primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH). A rare and usually fatal lung disorder, PPH primarily affects women of childbearing age, though it does affect both men and women of all ages, including young children.
Because it's a rare disease, learning about it has been sporadic, at best. The identification of a gene that is associated with the inherited form of the disease is thus a significant breakthrough. This brings medical science closer to insights into PPH's causes and provides essential facts that may lead to the design of more effective therapies for it.
The research, conducted by Drs. Jane H. Morse of Columbia University and James A. Knowles of the Columbia Genome Center, was funded in part by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Morse and Knowles will publish their study in the September issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.
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