Pulmonary Vascular Diseases Secondary to Schistosomiasis

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is the most common parasitic disease associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). It induces remodeling via complex inflammatory processes produced by the parasite eggs. Changes in the pulmonary vasculature after Schistosoma infection are common, but may not always be associated with a clinical manifestation of PAH. Those patients who presented with PAH show clinical signs and symptoms that are not distinguishable from other forms of PAH.

Pulmonary hypertension: From an orphan disease to a global epidemic

“…These experimental and clinical data reviewed above suggest that some pulmonary vascular diseases can be found in almost half of patients with hepatosplenic disease secondary to schistosomiasis, thus we can conservatively estimate that 20-50 million people may have this pathology worldwide and the clinical presentation of pulmonary hypertension can be expected to be around 4–16 million patients worldwide 65,122 . This makes schistosomiasis the most prevalent causes of Group 1 of the current classification (pulmonary arterial hypertension 122 .…”

Infection in pulmonary vascular diseases: Would another consortium really be the way to go?

“…A wide variety of infectious diseases can contribute to the causation of pulmonary vascular diseases (PVD) and consequently pulmonary hypertension in the developing world. Over 200 million people (80% of which are in Africa) are affected by schistosomiasis, which may cause PVD in half of them 5 and the clinical presentation of pulmonary hypertension in 7–15% of them 6,7 . Other Helminthic diseases can induce pulmonary hypertension such as Wuchereria bancrofti , a threadlike worm that causes filariasis (elephantiasis) 8,9 .…”