Top stories in health and medicine, February 28, 2013
This series is brought to you by MedPage Today.1. 5 Psych Disorders Have Common Genetics. Autism, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and schizophrenia share common genetic underpinnings — despite differences in symptoms and course of disease.2. Imaging Suggests Wide Window for Alzheimer’s Tx. The biological path to Alzheimer’s disease might continue for more than a decade, suggesting a broad window of opportunity for intervention.3. Side Effects Dim Niacin Promise. A highly significant increase in adverse events, in particular myopathy, appears to...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 28, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: News Heart Neurology Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
HPS2-THRIVE Coming Attraction: First Look At What Went Wrong With Niacin
In a few weeks, on March 9, the main results of the HPS2-THRIVE (Heart Protection Study 2-Treatment of HDL to Reduce the Incidence of Vascular Events) study will be presented in San Francisco at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. These results have been eagerly awaited since Merck’s brief announcement in December that the trial had not met its primary endpoint and that it would no longer pursue approval of Tredaptive, the combination of extended-release niacin and laropiprant, in the US. The trial was designed to assess whether adding the niacin/laropiprant combination to standard st...
Source: CardioBrief - February 27, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Larry Husten Tags: People, Places & Events Policy & Ethics Prevention, Epidemiology & Outcomes European Heart Journal High-density lipoprotein Laropiprant Merck niacin Statin Tredaptive Source Type: blogs
Ken Frazier's at Davos
Merck CEO says jury out on raising good cholesterol
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The jury is still out on the benefits of increasing "good" HDL cholesterol, but the strategy remains worth pursuing, despite recent setbacks, the chief executive of Merck & Co said on Thursday.
Confidence in the HDL thesis suffered a fresh blow last month when a major clinical trial of Merck's Tredaptive medicine failed. That followed earlier failures with two other HDL-boosting drugs from Pfizer and Roche.
The Pfizer and Roche drugs worked differently to Tredaptive, by inhibiting a protein called CETP, and Merck is also developing a ke...
Source: PharmaGossip - January 24, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Trials Of Niacin And Atrial Fibrillation Device Will Headline American College Of Cardiology Program
Two big trials will highlight this year’s American College of Cardiology meeting in March in San Francisco. First is the PREVAIL trial testing Boston Scientific‘s long-anticipated Watchman left atrial appendage closure device for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation. Second is the detailed presentation of the controversial failed HPS2-THRIVE trial of extended-release niacin and laropiprant. Read my complete story on Forbes, along with a list of the late-breakers. (Source: CardioBrief)
Source: CardioBrief - January 22, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Larry Husten Tags: Heart Failure Heart Rhythms Interventional Cardiology & Surgery MI/ACS People, Places & Events American College of Cardiology atrial fibrillation Boston Scientific niacin San Francisco Watchman Source Type: blogs
#174: Niacin/laropiprant products to be suspended; JNC 8, ATP 4 guidelines; new meta-analysis on sugar sparks old debate; two antihypertensives plus NSAID ups risk of acute kidney injury
Niacin/laropiprant products to be suspended; JNC 8, ATP 4 guidelines; new meta-analysis on sugar sparks old debate; two antihypertensives plus NSAID ups risk of acute kidney injury (Source: Blogs@theHeart.org)
Source: Blogs@theHeart.org - January 18, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: theheart.org Tags: This week in cardiology from heartwire Source Type: blogs
How nutritious is horse meat?
Just a quick round-up cribbed from NutritionData via KQED to address the issue of how nutritious is horse meat compared to beef in the wake of “StableGate” (horse DNA allegedly present in value burgers sold by UK and Iris supermarkets).
Horse meat is about 120 vs beef’s 130 kilocalories per 100 grams. They have similar cholesterol levels and pretty much the same protein content when comparing lean cuts. Horse meat has twice the iron of beef and more than twice the vitamin B12, but less B6, niacin and folate.
The levels of omega-3 fatty acids – supposedly linked to reduced risk of heart disease strok...
Source: Sciencebase Science Blog - January 16, 2013 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: David Bradley Tags: Science Source Type: blogs
Do doctors know how to treat high blood pressure and high cholesterol?
Blood pressure and cholesterol problems affect millions. These are the bread, butter and sugary drinks of Internal Medicine and general Cardiology practice.
It stands to reason then, that the treatment of these basic maladies would be well agreed upon. Guidelines and expert consensus statements would be clear and up-to-date.
But this is far from reality.
This recent story on theHeart.org chronicled the fact that treatment guidelines for high blood pressure and high cholesterol are a decade old. (And the last word on best practice for obesity treatment was 15 years ago.)
Surely this death of clarity is worthy of comment. A ...
Source: Dr John M - January 16, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr John Source Type: blogs
Tredaptive RIP
Niacin/laropiprant products to be suspended worldwide
Tuesday 15th January 2013
LATEST NEWS
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended that the marketing, supply, and authorisations of three identical niacin/laropiprant products—Tredaptive, Pelzont, and Trevaclyn—for the treatment of adults with dyslipidemia be suspended across the European Union.[1]
In addition, the company that markets the combination, Merck, has begun working with regulatory agencies in all countries where the medicine is currently available to develop communications for healthcare providers and to suspend the availability of the pro...
Source: PharmaGossip - January 15, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Merck Starts To Suspend Worldwide Availability Of Tredaptive
In the wake of the negative HPS2-THRIVE study announced last month, Merck said today that it was beginning to suspend the worldwide availability of Tredaptive, its combination of extended-release niacin and laropiprant. Click here to read the full story on Forbes. (Source: CardioBrief)
Source: CardioBrief - January 11, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Larry Husten Tags: Policy & Ethics Prevention, Epidemiology & Outcomes HDL High-density lipoprotein HPS2-THRIVE Laropiprant Merck niacin Tredaptive Source Type: blogs
Merck Pulls Tredaptive Cholesterol Pill After A Flop
Less than a month after a study showed its Tredaptive cholesterol pill failed to prevent heart attacks, strokes and deaths more than traditional statin drugs that lower LDL, or bad cholesterol, Merck is withdrawing the drug from 40 countries around the world. Tredaptive was not approved in the US, however (see Merck statement here).
The move is not surprising. At the time, the drugmaker acknowledged the results were so disappointing that regulatory approval would not be sought in the US. The trial followed more than 25,000 patients for almost four years and also found that Tredaptive significantly raised the incidence of s...
Source: Pharmalot - January 11, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Abbott Laboratories Abbvie Cholesterol Eli Lilly Merck Niaspan Pfizer Source Type: blogs
Merck Halts Sales of Cholesterol Drug Outside U.S. - Bloomberg
Merck & Co. (MRK) will stop selling the cholesterol drug Tredaptive, marketed outside the U.S., after a the treatment was shown to be ineffective and potentially harmful in a study. The medicine is approved in 70 countries and sold in 40, the Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based company said in a statement today. Merck said last month it wouldn’t seek U.S. approval after findings revealed Tredaptive didn’t reduce heart attacks or stroke and led to non-fatal serious side effects. Tredaptive combines the vitamin niacin and the medicine laropiprant, added to reduce a face-flushing effect of the drug. The ...
Source: PharmaGossip - January 11, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Should Niacin Still Be Prescribed? William Boden Versus Harlan Krumholz
In the wake of HPS2-THRIVE many have argued that there is no longer any reason to prescribe niacin. William Boden, the lead investigator of AIM-HIGH and COURAGE, thinks there were enough flaws in the design of the niacin trials to justify the cautious use of niacin in certain circumstances. Says Boden: “There is evidence of clinical outcome improvement (i.e., CHD death/MI reduction) from VA-HIT for gemfibrozil; there is similar clinical outcome improvement for niacin from the Coronary Drug Project. Numerous studies show niacin’s benefit on surrogate outcome measures (i.e., quantitative coronary angiography, IVUS, c...
Source: CardioBrief - January 9, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Larry Husten Tags: Policy & Ethics Prevention, Epidemiology & Outcomes AIM-HIGH Boden cholesterol HDL Heart Protection Study High-density lipoprotein HPS2-THRIVE LDL niacin Source Type: blogs
AbbVie: The Abbott Spinoff Arrives, But What’s Next?
It is now official – AbbVie exists. For those who may not recall, AbbVie is the so-called research-based pharma that has been spun off by Abbott Laboratories and features a portfolio of existing medicines, such as Humira and Synthroid, along with a pipeline of some 20 compounds in Phase II or Phase III development.
One question, though, is what kind of shelf life will AbbVie actually have? On one hand, there is Humira, a biologic that is approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and Crohn’s disease, where the average treatment penetration rate is below 20 percent, notes Damien Conover, who heads pharma ...
Source: Pharmalot - January 2, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Abbott Laboratories Abbvie Humira Pfizer Rheumatoid Arthritis Source Type: blogs
