Health · Medical Research · 7 hrs ago
Study links pulmonary hypertension to brain inflammation and cognitive changes
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC linked pulmonary hypertension to brain changes that may help explain memory and thinking problems reported by some patients.
Pulmonary hypertension is high blood pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs, and it can also cause shortness of breath, chest pain and lightheadedness.
In two groups of patients, scans showed brain tissue loss and weaker links between regions involved in memory, attention and planning.
The changes were not found in people with other heart, lung or psychiatric conditions, and the researchers said they were not explained by low oxygen, poor heart function or treatment medicines.
The team connected the brain inflammation to a genetic variant in NCOA7, which is already linked to inflammation in the blood vessels of people with pulmonary hypertension.
Tests in mice also suggested that NCOA7 helps regulate brain inflammation in the disease.
The findings could help identify people at risk of future cognitive problems, though the researchers did not say when or how a screening test might be used.
A study links pulmonary hypertension to inflammation in the brain, brain tissue loss and changes in brain communication.
Researchers found these brain changes in people with pulmonary hypertension and not in comparison groups with other heart, lung or psychiatric conditions.
The changes involved the cerebellum and frontal lobe, regions involved in memory, attention and planning.
The study linked a variant in the NCOA7 gene to inflammation in the cerebellum and found signs of overactive immune cells in brain tissue.
The findings suggest a possible biological marker for screening for future cognitive issues.
- Who
- University of Pittsburgh and UPMC researcher-clinicians, led by Stephen Chan.
- What
- A study linked pulmonary hypertension to brain inflammation and changes associated with cognitive problems.
- When
- Published on November 2, 2026; the study was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
- Where
- The research included data from a large public health database and a group of UPMC patients.
- Why
- Researchers investigated whether the NCOA7 variant associated with inflammation in pulmonary hypertension might also be linked to brain inflammation and cognitive impairment.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Chan had previously identified an NCOA7 genetic variant linked to inflammatory responses in some pulmonary hypertension patients.
The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
- Gene
- NCOA7
- Brain regions
- Cerebellum and frontal lobe
- Research groups
- Large public health database and a smaller group of UPMC patients
- Study journal
- Journal of Clinical Investigation
What people are saying
This changes the way we look at a disease like pulmonary hypertension. In medicine, we typically treat the symptoms of one organ system; but the reality is that our bodies are very complex, and disease processes may be affecting multiple parts of the body in a variety of ways.