Article Archive

Highlights Report: 2014 FH Global Summit

The FH Global Summit offers a unique opportunity for all players in the healthcare arena, academia, government and patient advocacy groups, to act together to catalyse progress in FH care. Sooner not later: Children are the driver for improving FH care Top of the agenda…

Mechanistic insights from PCSK9 LOF mutations

Mechanistic insights from PCSK9 LOF mutations with a particular focus on data from the Copenhagen studies, were discussed by Professor Anne Tybjaerg-Hansen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, and University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Seminal studies showed that carriage of LOF mutations was associated reduction in LDL cholesterol…

How can we optimise PCSK9-targeted therapies?

Highly relevant to these discussions was how to optimise the use of PCSK9-targeted therapies, discussed from both European (Professor Luís Masana, University Rovira and Virgili, Reus-Tarragona, Spain) and North American (Professor Henry Ginsberg, Columbia University, New York, USA) perspectives, from the guidelines perspectives. There are…

Evidence for the effects of PCSK9 beyond the liver

Evidence for the effects of PCSK9 beyond the liver was discussed by Professor Bertrand Cariou, INSERM UMR1087, l’Institut du Thorax, Nantes, France. A seminal paper showed that PCSK9 exerts hypocholesterolaemic effects via action in both the liver and intestine; in the latter case, PCSK9 modulates…

Why new NLA guidelines for dyslipidaemia? A view from the authors

The US National Lipid Association (NLA) has just released recommendations for management of dyslipidaemia. Matthew K. Ito, Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Portland, Oregon and one of the lead authors, discusses thinking behind these recommendations, and what are the implications for clinicians. •                Why has the…

Reducing the burden of Disease and Death from Familial Hypercholesterolemia: A Call to Action

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a genetic disease characterized by substantial elevations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, unrelated to diet or lifestyle. Untreated FH patients have 20 times the risk of developing coronary artery disease, compared to the general population. Estimates indicate that as many as 1…

Paediatric FH: do you need a genetic diagnosis?

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is characterised clinically by life-long elevated levels of low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and increased risk of premature cardiovascular disease.  FH is predominantly due to mutations in the gene encoding the LDL receptor, and less commonly to mutations in the APOB or PCSK9 genes….

What are the gaps in knowledge about the PCSK9 inhibitors

Take home messages from ACC2014

Results of studies presented in 2014, show that PCSK9 inhibitors: 1) very effectively reduce low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C); and 2) show consistently predictable safety profiles. The positive results of short-term studies are now being reported in longer terms and larger clinical studies, Dr Evan…

For which patients would you expect the PCSK9 monoclonal antibodies to be most useful?

Michel Farnier MD PhD Point Medical, Dijon, France Proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 (PCSK9) plays a key role in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) metabolism, mainly by enhancing degradation of LDL receptors in the liver. PCSK9 is a secreted protein and acts by reducing the amount…

BMS-962476

BMS-962476: First in man data

CVD Prevention

2021: ESC Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34458905/ 2019: ACC/AHA Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30894318/ 2013: ACC/AHA Lifestyle management to prevent CVD…

Unmet clinical needs in cholesterol lowering

Recent decades has seen marked improvement in reducing rates of heart disease and stroke (cardiovascular disease), particularly in developed nations.1 High levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), or ‘bad cholesterol’ are considered a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. International guidelines state that reduction of…

ODYSSEY trials at ESC Congress Hotline

ESC Congress 2014: Lipids Hotline: ODYSSEY TRIALS Prof Alberto Zambon, University of Padua, Italy discusses the four ODYSSEY trials with the PCSK9 inhibitor alirocumab presented at ESC Congress Hotline Sunday. Addition of a new investigational agent – Alirocumab – to high doses of statins result…

Lowering LDL-C : at what level would this impact the benefit vs. risk ratio?

Emeritus Research Professor, Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), Canada Potent inhibitors of pro-protein convertase-subtilisin-kexin-9 (PCSK9) have the capacity to reduce plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) to unprecedentedly low levels, especially if combined with statins. This discovery raises several important questions; how low should…

FH

2021: Integrated Guidance for Enhancing the Care of Familial Hypercholesterolaemia in Australia https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33309206/ 2021: Update of the Brazilian Guideline for Familial Hypercholesterolemia https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34709306/ 2019: NICE. Familial hypercholesterolaemia: identification and management https://www.guidelines.co.uk/genetic-conditions/nice-fh-guideline/453843.article 2018: Canadian Cardiovascular Society Position Statement on Familial Hypercholesterolemia: Update 2018 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30527143/ 2017: Guidelines…

PCSK9 inhibition

A raised level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Despite success in recent decades in lowering LDL-C with statins and other lipid-lowering drugs, considerable risk remains for future cardiovascular events even in people who are…

FH detection in primary care: how can we do better?

FH is clearly underdiagnosed and undertreated.1  The question is how to best to address this challenge. FH is one of the most common genetically transmitted conditions, with about 1 in 200-250 people affected.1,2 In the UK, this translates to about 300,000 people affected ; however,…

Low PCSK9 levels in CKD patients on haemodialysis

Serum PCSK9 levels are decreased in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing haemodialysis, thereby implying that PCSK9 plays a similar important role in regulating low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in these patients, as in the general population. Abujrad H, Mayne J, Ruzicka M, Cousins…

Dyslipidaemia management

2021: Lipid Measurements in the Management of Cardiovascular Diseases: NLA Scientific Statement https://www.lipid.org/sites/default/files/files/JACL%201734(3).pdf 2021: Canadian Cardiovascular Society Guidelines for the Management of Dyslipidemia for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Adults. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33781847/ 2021: Lipid-lowering and anti-thrombotic therapy in patients with peripheral arterial disease—European Atherosclerosis Society/European…