Low blood levels of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are associated with right heart failure in people with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a study reports.
Experiments in mouse models of PH, however, suggest that the low BDNF levels are a consequence, and not the cause, of right heart failure.
The study, “Decreased plasma levels of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor correlate with right heart congestion in pulmonary arterial hypertension,” was published in the journal ERJ Open Research.