December 18th, 2012
Promising One-Year Results for Renal Denervation in Resistant Hypertension
Larry Husten, PHD
Denervation of the renal sympathetic nerve may become an important new tool in the fight against resistant hypertension. Previously, the main results of the Symplicity HTN-2 trial demonstrated that in selected patients renal denervation resulted in a large and highly significant reduction in systolic blood pressure (BP) at six months. Now, longer followup from the trial, published in Circulation, […]
December 18th, 2012
Amgen Pleads Guilty to Misbranding Anemia Drug Aranesp
Larry Husten, PHD
Biotechnology giant Amgen today pleaded guilty in federal court to a misdemeanor charge of misbranding Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa), its highly successful anemia drug. The government accused Amgen of marketing Aranesp for indications not approved by the FDA and other illegal marketing practices. The judge deferred a decision on the plea until Wednesday. When the final settlement is announced further details […]
December 17th, 2012
Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: December 17th
Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
This week’s topics include a study on ICD programming to reduce inappropriate therapy and mortality, a clinical review of diagnosing and managing supraventricular tachycardia, the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, and more.
December 17th, 2012
New Guidelines Define State-of-the-Art STEMI Care
Larry Husten, PHD
New guidelines published online today in Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology provide an efficient overview of the best treatments for STEMI patients. (Available for download are PDFs of the full version [64 pages] or the executive summary [27 pages] of the 2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.) “We’re looking to a future where more […]
December 16th, 2012
A Compelling Cardiac Surgery Broadcast — in Norway
Øystein Horgmo, BSc
A visual journal of open and minimally invasive cardiac surgeries — side by side
December 14th, 2012
CHMP Recommends Against Approval for Mipomersen in Europe
Larry Husten, PHD
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency today recommended that mipomersen (Kynamro; Isis and Genzyme) not be approved for use in Europe. The novel antisense oligonucleotide works by inhibiting the synthesis of apolipoprotein-B and is under development in the United States and Europe for the treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia. […]
December 13th, 2012
Hypertension And Smoking Top List Of Global Risk Factors
Larry Husten, PHD
Worldwide, hypertension and tobacco smoking are the single largest causes of death and disability, according to findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 (GBD 2010), the largest ever assessment and analysis of global health and disease. In an unprecedented move, the Lancet devoted an entire issue to the study, including seven separate articles and eight comments. GBD […]
December 13th, 2012
Diabetics with Multivessel Disease: FREEDOM with CABG?
Valentin Fuster, MD
Dr. Valentin Fuster answers questions about the FREEDOM trial, which shows that diabetics with multivessel disease had lower rates of death and MI with CABG than with PCI.
December 12th, 2012
FDA: Small, Nonsignificant Risk from Chantix
Larry Husten, PHD
The FDA today updated its safety review of the smoking cessation drug varenicline (Chantix, Pfizer). A large meta-analysis, which the FDA had required Pfizer to perform, found a higher rate of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients taking varenicline than in patients taking placebo. However, the increase in risk was very small and did not achieve statistical significance. […]
December 12th, 2012
State of the Heart: AHA Publishes Year-End Statistical Update
Larry Husten, PHD
Although deaths from cardiovascular disease have been declining for many years, continued progress is threatened by disturbing trends in U.S. lifestyles. That’s the clear message from the American Heart Association’s year-end report, “Heart Disease and Stroke Statistical Update 2013,” published in Circulation. “Americans need to move a lot more, eat healthier and less, and manage risk […]