Funding Will Bring Relief to Kiwi PAH Sufferers

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Funding For Drug Treatment As Pulmonary Hypertension Patients Strive To Live Longer

Pharmac’s Funding of Tracleer Will Bring Relief to Kiwi PAH Sufferers

Auckland, 26 August 2009 – Tracleer (bosentan), a leading treatment for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), is now funded by PHARMAC. This will give New Zealanders suffering from this incurable disease a chance to improve both the quality and length of their lives and provide physicians with much needed options to improve treatment outcomes.

PAH is a complex and serious health problem which involves the development of high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs which in turn damages the heart. Left untreated it leads to death. Previously, lung transplant was the only treatment option for PAH but this is now less common with the development of new medications such as Tracleer (bosentan).

Dr Tanya McWilliams, a leading Auckland-based PAH consultant, says that signs of PAH such as breathlessness or lethargy can be attributed to simply being over-tired or lacking in fitness.

Dr McWilliams adds that often people remain undiagnosed or are diagnosed late in the disease, so the number of Kiwis with PAH could be higher than we realise. PAH can occur spontaneously or be associated with several different diseases, including scleroderma (also known as systemic sclerosis); systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); HIV / AIDS, congenital heart defects and severe liver disease.

The key to successfully managing PAH is early diagnosis and treatment. However as sufferers initially experience breathlessness PAH is often mistaken for asthma or emphysema or even lack of fitness and is not diagnosed until the disease is more severe with most people having greatly reduced life spans. Screening for PAH is easy, says Dr McWilliams.

Dr McWilliams says that before treatment with Tracleer (bosentan) and other medications, a diagnosis of PAH was akin to a death sentence as it is more lethal than many tumours.

However with advances in medications like Tracleer (bosentan), pulmonary hypertension can now be treated and many patients have significant improvements in quality of life so that patients can live for some time in reasonable health. Before the new treatments such as bosentan were available only about 30% of patients would survive beyond three years.

Dr Lutz Beckert, a PAH expert in Christchurch, says that Pharmac’s funding will make a difference as it will allow patients and physicians to access Tracleer as a new and important medication to treat pulmonary hypertension.

Tracleer is effective in stabilising, and in many cases improving PAH especially when used in conjunction with other medications. Combining treatments is the best way forward and a goal-oriented approach to treatment interventions (such as add-on therapy) has proven to be effective in improving the treatment outcomes for patients with PAH, says Dr Beckert.

Dr Beckert adds that newer therapies like bosentan have shown evidence to improve survival and functional status in patients with PAH.
Tracleer is generally well tolerated however patients on treatment require regular blood tests.

New agents are also being investigated that may target cells in the blood vessel walls in the lungs that are responsible for the development of pulmonary hypertension.

ENDS

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