New class of cholesterol drug proves safe and effective for patients with dyslipidemia
Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet for April 28, 2015
2015-04-28
(Press-News.org) 1. New class of cholesterol drug proves safe and effective for patients with dyslipidemia
Treatment with PCSK9 antibodies reduces mortality and produces profound reductions in LDL-cholesterol and lipoprotein in patients with dyslipidemia. The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis are being published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Having elevated LDL-cholesterol levels contributes substantially to the development of coronary artery disease and the risk of cardiovascular events. Current guidelines recommend that patients with elevated cholesterol be treated with statins to delay the development of atherosclerotic plaque and lower the risk of cardiovascular complications. However, a sizable proportion of patients taking statins do not achieve recommended LDL-C target levels and others discontinue treatment because of drug-related side effects.
Monoclonal antibodies are a new class of cholesterol drugs that target a cholesterol-regulating protein called PCSK9. Researchers reviewed 24 randomized controlled trials to assess the efficacy and safety of PCSK9 antibodies in adults with elevated cholesterol levels. The data show that compared to no anti-PCSK9 treatment, PCSK9 antibodies are associated with lower odds of all-cause mortality and myocardial infarction. Treatment with PCSK9 antibodies also significantly reduced LDL-cholesterol and lipoprotein and were well-tolerated by patients. This new class of cholesterol drug seems to be safe and effective for treating patients with dyslipidemia.
The authors of a related editorial note that the most remarkable finding of the meta-analysis is the reduction in all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and myocardial infarction with PCSK9 inhibitors. Does this mean we have reached a new era in lipid lowering treatment? Not yet, they suggest. The trials analyzed were not specifically designed or powered to assess and detect differences in clinical outcomes or in rare adverse events. More long-term trials with specific cardiovascular disease endpoints and monitoring of a broad range of adverse effects are needed.
INFORMATION:
Note: For an embargoed PDF or to arrange an interview with an author, please contact Megan Hanks at mhanks@acponline.org. The editorialist can be reached through Heather Dewar at hdewar@jhmi.edu or 410-502-9463.
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2015-04-27
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - April 27, 2015 - Refining the results of a 2013 study, researchers have found that atrial fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat, is associated with only one type of heart attack - the more common of the two types.
The study, led by Elsayed Z. Soliman, M.D., director of the Epidemiological Cardiology Research Center at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, is published in the April 27 issue of the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
Atrial fibrillation, or a-fib, is the most prevalent heart rhythm disorder, affecting as many as 6 million ...
2015-04-27
Women with breast cancer who follow a physical exercise program during their chemotherapy treatment experience less side effects like fatigue, reduced physical fitness, nausea and pain. It is also less often necessary to adjust the dosage of their chemotherapy. This is shown by a study supervised by prof. dr. Neil Aaronson of the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI).
Chemotherapy can be very burdensome for patients. Because of the side effects, not all patients are able to complete their chemotherapy as originally planned, but require a dose adjustment. There are some ...
2015-04-27
Using a simple device for eight hours a night to treat sleep apnea can help people with prediabetes improve their blood sugar levels and may reduce the risk of progressing to diabetes, according to a new study published online in the April 21, 2015, issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
About 57 million Americans have prediabetes, a disorder marked by blood sugar levels that are elevated but not sufficiently high to be considered diabetic. Prediabetics are at increased risk for developing diabetes, which can damage the eyes, kidneys, ...
2015-04-27
April 25, 2015, Vienna , Austria: Phase 3 results presented today at The International Liver Congress™ 2015 show that a combination of daclatasvir (DCV), sofosbuvir (SOF) and ribavirin (RBV) for 12 weeks was effective and well tolerated amongst patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with advanced cirrhosis and post-transplant recurrence. Sustained virologic response rates at 12 weeks (SVR12) were >90% in patients with Child-Pugh class A or B cirrhosis but lower in Child-Pugh class C. SVR12 was achieved by 94% of liver transplant recipients with HCV recurrence.
ALLY-1 ...
2015-04-27
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- In 2009, the year she won the Nobel Prize for economics, Elinor Ostrom proposed a framework to integrate both the institutional and ecological dimensions of a pervasive global challenge: achieving sustainability. Now researchers have put Ostrom's social-ecological systems theory into practice in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. The result is a map of regional strengths and weaknesses that can help guide fishers, conservationists, and other decision makers as they consider steps to preserve the peninsula's vital coastal marine ...
2015-04-27
Reported emissions of a group of potent greenhouse gases from developed countries are shown to be largely accurate, but for the wrong reasons, according to new findings from an international team, led by researchers at the University of Bristol,UK.
Until now, there has been little verification of the reported emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), gases that are used in refrigerators and air conditioners, resulting in an unexplained gap between the amount reported, and the rise in concentrations seen in the atmosphere. This new study shows that this gap can be almost ...
2015-04-27
The ocean has been sucking up heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) building up in our atmosphere--with a little help from tiny plankton. Like plants on land, these plankton convert CO2 into organic carbon via photosynthesis. But unlike land plants that are held fast to terra firma, plankton can sink into the deep ocean, carrying carbon with them. Along the way they decompose when bacteria convert their remains back into CO2.
It's called the "biological pump," and if it operated 100 percent efficiently, nearly every atom of carbon drawn into the ocean would be converted ...
2015-04-27
A Simon Fraser University researcher has uncovered what may be the first quantified evidence demonstrating a relationship between upright locomotion and spinal health.
Scientists have long pondered whether there is a link between walking upright and back problems, since people have more back pain than other primates such as chimpanzees, with whom we share 98 per cent of our DNA.
Kimberly Plomp, a post-doctoral fellow and biological anthropologist, spent the past seven years studying ancient bones for the telltale signs of disease and injury that give archaeologists ...
2015-04-27
Beginning in the 1880s, coastal dunes in the United States were planted with European beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria) in an attempt to hold the sand in place and prevent it from migrating. The grass did the job it was brought in to do. As it trapped sand in its deep roots, the dunes at the beachfront grew higher and steeper and less sand moved inland. But, like many attempts to control nature, this one had unintended consequences.
Although dunes may look barren, they are actually reservoirs of biodiversity. "If you're a plant lover, the sand dunes are just spectacular," ...
2015-04-27
(Millbrook, NY) The month of May brings many things, among them Mother's Day, tulips, and Lyme Disease Awareness campaigns. But according to Dr. Richard S. Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY, if we want to get a leg up on tick-borne illness we need to become vigilant earlier in the season.
In New York State, the blacklegged ticks that carry Lyme disease and other pathogens are already active in late April. Ostfeld explains: "For more than two decades, we've been monitoring tick activity in the Hudson Valley region ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] New class of cholesterol drug proves safe and effective for patients with dyslipidemia
Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet for April 28, 2015
