Hormone levels help predict survival in lung disease

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new study shows that levels of brain natriuretic peptide can predict pulmonary hypertension among those with a range of lung diseases.
Pulmonary hypertension is a potentially life-threatening complication of various lung diseases. Researchers at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich and elsewhere now reveal that a hormone called brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) can act as a prognostic marker in this situation.

Normally, levels of BNP are low. But if the heart has to work harder than usual - as happens in pulmonary hypertension - levels go up.  In this study, BNP was measured in 176 patients with a variety of lung diseases, and other tests were performed. During the ten months following the study, 31 participants died of cardiopulmonary causes. These patients had significantly higher levels of BNP than those who survived. The findings suggest that BNP is a good biomarker for impaired heart function due to pulmonary hypertension and can help identify patients at risk.

Source
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care April 2006

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