Changes in blood pressure after catheter-based renal denervation in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Renal denervation (RDN) is an interventional treatment for patients with uncontrolled hypertension. The Global SYMPLICITY Registry (GSR) is a prospective, all-comer, world-wide registry designed to assess the safety and efficacy of RDN. We evaluated the outcomes in South African patients in the GSR over 12 months. METHODS: Eligible patients with hypertension had a daytime mean blood pressure (BP) > 135/85 mmHg or night-time mean BP > 120/70 mmHg. Office and 24-hour ambulatory systolic BP reduction and adverse events over 12 months were evaluated. RESULTS: South African patients (n = 36) in the GSR had a mean age of 54.4 ± 9.9 years with a median of four prescribed antihypertensive medication classes. At 12 months, mean changes in office and 24-hour ambulatory systolic BP were -16.9 ± 24.2 and -15.3 ± 18.5 mmHg, respectively, with only one adverse event recorded. CONCLUSIONS: RDN safety and efficacy in South African patients were consistent with world-wide GSR results.

PCSK9 Inhibitors: From Nature's Lessons to Clinical Utility.

BACKGROUND: Proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors are a novel class of non-statin lipid lowering therapy that reduce LDL-cholesterol by 50 - 60%. PCSK9 inhibitors decrease LDL-cholesterol by preventing intracellular degradation of LDL receptors; subsequently, a greater number of LDL-receptors are available on the cell surface to extract circulating LDL. OBJECTIVE: To describe the origins of PCSK9 inhibitors and their current use in clinical practice. METHODS: We performed a narrative review of the PCSK9 inhibitor class of drugs. RESULTS: Current data indicate that PCSK9 inhibitors effectively reduce LDL-cholesterol and are well tolerated and safe. PCSK9 inhibitors have also been shown to reduce cardiovascular event rates in patients with stable atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and in patients with a recent (up to one year) acute coronary syndrome. Given the costs, chronicity of the treatment and the potential budget impact, PCSK9 inhibitors are often limited to patients with the highest absolute risk for major adverse cardiovascular events despite optimal treatment with high-intensity statin and ezetimibe. CONCLUSION: PCSK9 inhibitors have a favorable safety, efficacy and tolerability profile. Postmarketing safety surveillance and real-world studies are needed to further support the long-term safety profile of this class of medicine.

Long-term safety and efficacy of alirocumab in South African patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia: the ODYSSEY Open-Label Extension study.

BACKGROUND: Alirocumab reduces low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels by up to 61%. The ODYSSEY Open-Label Extension study investigated the effect of alirocumab in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH) over 144 weeks. METHODS: Eligible patients with HeFH had completed an earlier double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled parent study. Patients were initiated on 75 mg alirocumab Q2W subcutaneous (SC) unless baseline LDL-C was > 8.9 mmol/l, in which case they received 150 mg alirocumab Q2W. Dose titration to 150 mg Q2W was at the investigator's discretion. RESULTS: The study enrolled 167 patients and the parent study mean (± SD) baseline LDL-C level was 3.65 ± 1.9 mmol/l. Mean LDL-C level was reduced by 48.7% at week 144; mean on-treatment LDL-C was 2.30 ± 1.24 mmol/l. Eight patients reported injection-site reactions, with one treatment discontinuation. Treatment emergent anti-drug antibodies were identified in five patients but these did not affect the efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: Alirocumab effectively and safely reduced LDL-C in these patients.

Real-world geographic variations in the use of cardiac implantable electronic devices-The PANORAMA 2 observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Currently, several geographies around the world remain underrepresented in medical device trials. The PANORAMA 2 study was designed to assess contemporary region-specific differences in clinical practice patterns of patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs). METHODS: In this prospective, multicenter, observational, multinational study, baseline and implant data of 4,706 patients receiving Medtronic CIEDs (Medtronic plc, Minneapolis, MN, USA; either de novo device implants, replacements, or upgrades) were analyzed, consisting of: 54% implantable pulse generators (IPGs), 20.3% implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs), 15% cardiac resynchronization therapy -defibrillators, and 5.1% cardiac resynchronization therapy -pacemakers, from 117 hospitals in 23 countries across four geographical regions between 2012 and 2016. RESULTS: For all device types, in all regions, there were fewer females than males enrolled, and women were less likely to have ischemic cardiomyopathy. Implant procedure duration differed significantly across the geographies for all device types. Subjects from emerging countries, women, and older patients were less likely to receive a magnetic resonance imaging-compatible device. Defibrillation testing differed significantly between the regions. European patients had the highest rates of atrial fibrillation (AF), and the lowest number of implanted single-chamber IPGs. Evaluation of stroke history suggested that the general embolic risk is more strongly associated with stroke than AF. CONCLUSIONS: We provide comprehensive descriptive data on patients receiving Medtronic CIEDs from several geographies, some of which are understudied in randomized controlled trials. We found significant variations in patient characteristics. Several medical decisions appear to be affected by socioeconomic factors. Long-term follow-up data will help evaluate if these variations require adjustments to outcome expectations.

Otamixaban for the treatment of patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes (SEPIA-ACS1 TIMI 42): a randomised, double-blind, active-controlled, phase 2 trial.

BACKGROUND: Otamixaban is an intravenous direct factor Xa inhibitor. We aimed to assess its efficacy and safety in non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes and to identify the optimum dose range for further assessment in a phase 3 study. METHODS: In this double-blind, phase 2 trial undertaken in 196 sites in 36 countries, 3241 patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes were randomly assigned via a central, telephone-based interactive voice response system to one of five doses of otamixaban (0.08 mg/kg bolus followed by infusions of 0.035 [n=125], 0.070 [676], 0.105 [662], 0.140 [658], or 0.175 [671] mg/kg/h) or to a control of unfractionated heparin (60 IU/kg intravenous bolus followed by an infusion of 12 IU/kg/h) plus eptifibatide (180 microg/kg intravenous bolus followed by an infusion of 1.0-2.0 microg/kg/min [n=449]). Both investigators and patients were unaware of treatment allocation. Enrolment into the lowest dose group was stopped early at the recommendation of the Data Monitoring Committee. The primary efficacy endpoint was a composite of death, myocardial infarction, urgent revascularisation, or bailout glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor use up to 7 days. The primary safety endpoint was TIMI major or minor bleeding not related to coronary-artery bypass grafting. Efficacy analyses were by intention to treat; safety analyses were in treated patients. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00317395. FINDINGS: Rates of the primary efficacy endpoint in the five otamixaban doses were 7.2% (nine of 125) with 0.035 mg/kg/h, 4.6% (31/676) with 0.070 mg/kg/h, 3.8% (25/662) with 0.105 mg/kg/h, 3.6% (24/658) with 0.140 mg/kg/h, and 4.3% (29/671) with 0.175 mg/kg/h (p=0.34 for trend). In the control group, the rate was 6.2% (28/449), yielding relative risks for the five otamixaban doses of 1.16 (95% CI 0.56-2.38), 0.74 (0.45-1.21), 0.61 (0.36-1.02), 0.58 (0.34-1.00), and 0.69 (0.42-1.15), respectively. Rates of the primary safety endpoint in the five otamixaban doses were 1.6% (two of 122), 1.6% (11/669), 3.1% (20/651), 3.4% (22/651), and 5.4% (36/664), respectively (p=0.0001 for trend); the rate in the control group was 2.7% (12/448). INTERPRETATION: In patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes, otamixaban infusions of 0.100-0.140 mg/kg/h might reduce ischaemic events and have a safety profile similar to unfractionated heparin plus eptifibatide. Further testing in a phase 3 trial is warranted. FUNDING: Sanofi-Aventis.