PPH Legal Blog

Doctors at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto are currently testing a novel approach to pulmonary hypertension treatment by combining gene and cell therapy to treat the condition. In patients who suffer from PH, the vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lungs becomes hard and narrow, which in turn makes it harder for the heart to pump blood. Over time, the heart weakens as a result, and PH patients may then experience heart failure. At St. Michaels, study participants first harvest adult stem-like cells called endothelial progenitor cells (EPC)  from a patient’s blood, then genetically alter them by loading them with extra copies of a gene called endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), which plays a vital role in maintaining healthy blood vessels. After the cells are genetically modified and grown in the lab, doctors re-inject them into the patient. The hope is that the cells will then reverse the damage that has been done to the lung’s blood vessels. The study is in its early phases, but Dr. Michael Kutryk, a physician at St. Michael’s who is participating in the study, reports early positive results: “We’re certainly seeing positive results at the moment, but we expect to see much better results as we increase the doses of genetically modified cells.”

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