News

Oestrogen contributes to variability in PCSK9 levels

Fasting plasma PCSK9 levels vary considerably between healthy individuals, depending on age and sex. In women, a contributing factor could be changes in oestrogen levels, given that studies have shown that increasing oestrogen levels by pharmacological means reduces PCSK9 levels in animals and humans. Investigators…

News from AHA Scientific Sessions Latebreakers IMPROVE-IT: support for the lower is better hypothesis

Results from IMPROVE-IT reaffirm the LDL hypothesis that ‘lower is better’.  As incremental benefit on cardiovascular outcomes was seen with the addition of non-statin therapy, IMPROVE-IT bodes well for the PCSK9-targeted therapies. The IMPROVE-IT trial has been the subject of much speculation over the last…

“Lower is better” for LDL – a new meta-analysis

“Lower is better” for LDL – a new meta-analysis “How low should we go” has long been a key question in dyslipidaemia management. Will achieving levels of LDL-cholesterol well below 100 mg/dL (2.5 mmol/L) provide clinically significant clinical benefits? Will it be safe? A group…

ACC 2014 ODYSSEY MONO: First Phase III data for alirocumab suggests potential as an alternative to statins in hypercholesterolaemia

In this first report of Phase III data, the PCSK9 monoclonal antibody, alirocumab, demonstrated superior LDL-C lowering compared with ezetimibe over 24 weeks, suggesting potential as a treatment alternative to statin therapy in patients with hypercholesterolaemia. ODYSSEY MONO was a randomised, double-blind, double-dummy study in…

ACC 2015: CASCADE FH: Unmet needs in education and care of familial hypercholesterolaemia

Baseline data from the CASCADE-FH Registry, presented at ACC 2015, highlight gaps in the care of patients with inherited high cholesterol – familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH). Only about 50% of patients understood the risks of their condition. Treatment was also suboptimal in nearly one-half of patients…

AHA Scientific Sessions – TAUSSIG analysis: Homozygous FH patients on lipid apheresis

Treatment with PCSK9 monoclonal antibody therapy results in further LDL-C lowering in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH ) receiving lipid apheresis, provided that they have at least one LDL receptor-defective mutation, according to data from the Trial Assessing Long-Term Use of PCSK9 Inhibition in…

Overturning the 1%…Bridging the gaps in care

2014 FH Global Summit: 13-14 October, New York, USA: Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is a major clinical challenge for the 21st century. The European Atherosclerosis Society Consensus Panel has already made the case for FH being one of the most common inherited conditions, affecting about one…

ESC Congress 2014: PCSK9 inhibition: continues to show promise for unmet clinical needs

Debate has raged following the launch of guidelines in the US and UK (NICE) which have done away with targets and instead focused on cardiovascular (CV) risk. Yet it should be emphasised that there are also consistencies across the European and US/UK guidelines.1-3  All recognise…

Commentary: Is it clinically relevant to measure circulating PCSK9 levels?

It is well established that PCSK9 acts primarily as a secreted inhibitor of the LDL receptor. The enzymatic activity of PCSK9 allows auto-processing of the PCSK9 precursor within cells [1]. After this initial maturation step, PCSK9 is routed towards the secretory pathway.  Following secretion, PCSK9…

ACC 2014 DESCARTES: Durable LDL-C lowering with evolocumab

DESCARTES (Durable Effect of PCSK9 Antibody Compared with Placebo Study) showed substantial and sustained LDL-C lowering in patients with varying levels of cardiovascular risk. DESCARTES  was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial which compared evolocumab with placebo in patients with hyperlipidemia enrolled by 88…

In your opinion, what are the optimum patient populations for PCSK9 monoclonal antibody therapy?

PCSK9 monoclonal antibodies offer very important new treatments to lowed low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in patients who cannot tolerate statins or whose LDL-C is inadequately reduced as well as those people with high LDL-C caused by Familial Hypercholesterolemia.

How low should LDL-C be lowered? Thoughts of IMPROVE-IT rekindle debate

Not only lower BUT but SOONER is better

2014 FH Global Summit: 13-14 October, New York, USA FH is highly treatable: lowering LDL-C helps in managing the disease process. Clearly, the focus for FH care needs to move from the acute setting to prevention. Identifying FH sooner rather than later is optimal for…

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…

Is the ABCC6 gene important for cholesterol metabolism?

EAS Madrid: What made the clinical news about PCSK9?

TESLA: PCSK9 inhibition effective in homozygous FH Phase III TESLA study shows that treatment with the PCSK9 monoclonal antibody inhibitor evolocumab significantly lowered LDL-C by 31% at week 12 in patients with homozygous FH (HoFH) receiving intensive statin treatment and other lipid-modifying therapy. For the…

RUTHERFORD-2 slide deck now available

What are the gaps in knowledge about the PCSK9 inhibitors

New slide set: PCSK9 for LDL cholesterol reduction: what have we learned?

Dr Evan Stein, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio overviews what we have learned so far from trials with the PCSK9 monoclonal antibody therapies. Rationale for PCSK9 inhibition First in man studies Phase II studies

Statins and muscle symptoms: New EAS Consensus Panel statement

The European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) Consensus Panel has published new guidance on the diagnosis, assessment and treatment of statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS). Unique to this statement is an overview of current understanding of the pathophysiology of statin myopathy. Without doubt, statins are the therapeutic cornerstone…