Karin Tran-Lundmark
Advanced 3D imaging for new curative treatment for pulmonary hypertension
At the Children's Heart Center in Lund, we investigate and treat children with pulmonary hypertension, high blood pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs. About half of the children have high blood pressure due to an underlying heart disease, but often the cause is not known. Unfortunately, when I meet these children today, I have to tell them that we can alleviate but not cure. The aim of the research is to improve the effectiveness of existing treatments by participating in clinical trials and to find new treatment options through experimental studies. We believe that the connective tissue is important for the changes in the blood vessels. We have also worked with physicists to produce extremely high-resolution 3D images of diseased pulmonary blood vessels using a particle accelerator (synchrotron). We hope that this will give us and other researchers a much better understanding of what is actually happening in the lung, a prerequisite for successful treatment.
van der Have O, Mead TJ, Westöö C, Peruzzi N, Mutgan AC, Norvik C, Bech M, Struglics A, Hoetzenecker K, Brunnström H, Westergren-Thorsson G, Kwapiszewska G, Apte SS, Tran-Lundmark K. Aggrecan accumulates at sites of increased pulmonary arterial pressure in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension. Pulm Circ. 2023 Feb 21;13(1):e12200.1.
Hopper RK, van der Have O, Hollander SA, Dipchand AI, Perez de Sa V, Feinstein JA, Tran-Lundmark K. International practice heterogeneity in pre-transplant management of pulmonary hypertension related to pediatric left heart disease. Pediatr Transplant. 2023 Mar;27(2):e14461.
Jeremiasen I, Naumburg E, Westöö C, G Weismann C, Tran-Lundmark K. Vasodilator therapy for pulmonary hypertension in children: a national study of patient characteristics and current treatment strategies. Pulm Circ. 2021 Dec 13;11(4):20458940211057891.
Westöö C, Norvik C, Peruzzi N, van der Have O, Lovric G, Jeremiasen I, Tran PK, Mokso R, de Jesus Perez V, Brunnström H, Bech M, Galambos C, Tran-Lundmark K. Distinct types of plexiform lesions identified by synchrotron-based phase-contrast micro-CT. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2021 Jul 1;321(1):L17-L28.
Norvik CC, Westöö CK, Peruzzi N, Lovric G, van der Have O, Mokso R, Jeremiasen I, Brunnström H, Galambos C, Bech M, Tran-Lundmark K. Synchrotron-based phase contrast micro-CT as a tool for understanding pulmonary vascular pathobiology and the 3-D micro-anatomy of alveolar capillary dysplasia. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2020;318(1):L65-L75.