Tag Archives: Lixiana

A new gene therapy that targets the heart and requires only one treatment session, has been found safe for patients with coronary artery disease, according to a successful trial carried out in Finland (doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehx352). The treatment enhances circulation in ischaemic heart muscle and the effects were still visible one year after treatment. The randomised, blinded, placebo-controlled phase 1/2a trial was carried out in collaboration between the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio University Hospital and Turku PET Centre. The biological bypass is based on gene transfer in which a natural human growth factor, AdVEGF-DΔNΔC, a ne

PCSK9 approvals in Europe Two agents in a new cholesterol-lowering class – the PCSK9 inhibitors, which use human monoclonal antibodies to target PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9) – have received European approval for lowering cholesterol. Evolocumab (Repatha®, Amgen) is the first PCSK9 inhibitor to be granted marketing authorisation by the European Commission (EC) for use in people with primary hypercholesterolaemia or mixed dyslipidaemia, or in homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia, who are unable to reach low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goals with an optimal dose of statin (or a statin and other lipi

Cholesterol lowering significantly reduces stroke in the elderly Use of cholesterol lowering drugs (statins and fibrates) is associated with a one third lower risk of stroke in older adults without previous disease, finds a study published in the BMJ. A research team based in France set out to determine the association between use of lipid-lowering drugs in healthy older people and long-term risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. They tracked 7,484 men and women (average age 74 years) with no known history of vascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, living in three French cities (Bordeaux, Dijon and Montpellier). After an aver