African Americans are half as likely to be hospitalized for atrial fibrillation (AF) as whites, according to Paul Tabereaux, MD, MPH, and colleagues.
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The process of transitioning pediatric cardiology patients into adult cardiac care should begin in late childhood or early adolescence, says Arwa Saidi, MD (pictured) department of internal medicine and pediatric cardiology, University of Florida. The 2008 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines recommend preparing young people for the transition beginning at age 12.
Researchers have successfully used umbilical cord stem cells to build a functional heart valve that may someday be perfected so that infants born with valve abnormalities could receive a new valve derived from their own stem cells, reports Philipp Schaefermeier, MD, University Hospital of Munich, Germany.
A coalescence of factors usually conspires to cause resistant hypertension, which is defined as the failure to reach goal blood pressure in patients adhering to full doses of an appropriate three-drug antihypertensive treatment regimen, says Domenic Sica, MD.
The final nail has been driven into the homocysteine-lowering coffin as a means to prevent recurrent coronary events. The results from the homocysteine-lowering arm of the SEARCH (Study of the Effectiveness of Additional Reductions in Cholesterol and Homocysteine) trial found no benefit to folic acid combined with vitamin B12
Low-dose aspirin did not result in a significant reduction in first atherosclerotic events in patients with type 2 diabetes, reports Hisao Ogawa, MD, PhD (pictured), lead investigator of the Japanese Primary Prevention of Atherosclerosis with Aspirin for Diabetes (JPAD) trial.
Neither vitamin C nor vitamin E is effective for primary prevention of cardiovascular events in men, according to results of the Physician’s Health Study II, which evaluated the risk and benefits of both vitamins as well as a multivitamin in preventing cardiovascular disease and cancer. Results relating to cancer prevention will be presented November 17 at the Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research conference.
Rosuvastatin treatment of patients with better than average lipid profiles but with elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) resulted in a 44% relative risk reduction in cardiovascular events and a 20% reduction in all-cause mortality, reports Paul Ridker, MD (pictured), lead investigator for the JUPITER Trial Study Group. JUPITER was an investigator-initiated trial sponsored by AstraZeneca.
Johns Hopkins researchers have identified five proteins that may serve as an early warning of impending myocardial infarction (MI) in patients presenting to emergency rooms with ischemia symptoms. A blood test to detect all, or a subset of these proteins, could be used by physicians and paramedics in the 12- to 24-hour window before ischemia causes tissue damage or death.
Recovery following an acute coronary syndrome is a phase in a larger cardiovascular disease continuum, and prevention of downstream complications needs to begin immediately following the event, says Shirley M. Moore, PhD, RN.
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After spending 4 years laying a foundation that will streamline clinical testing and drug development, FDA leaders are poised to move the agency's Critical Path Initiative (CPI) from concept to implementation. Despite public concerns about drug safety, dangerous imports, and rising pharmaceutical costs, CPI has not fallen by the wayside.
Labeling updates and warnings through November 2008 for efalizumab (Raptiva)
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that use of finasteride, a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor commonly used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), does not appear to be associated with an increased incidence of hip fractures in men; in fact, the agent appears to decrease the risk of hip fracture.
An observational retrospective study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine demonstrated that mortality is reduced when patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are treated with cardioselective beta-blockers before major vascular surgery.
As a pharmacologic adjunct to stenting in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), bivalirudin monotherapy outperformed the combination of a glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitor and unfractionated heparin (UFH) over 1 year of follow-up, reported investigators at the 2008 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference.
A phase 2 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that alemtuzumab was more effective than interferon beta-1a in treating early, relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), but the agent was also associated with higher rates of autoimmunity, including cases of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).
To effectively gauge the potential clinical and economic impact of drug and biologic therapies that are pending FDA approval, the monitoring of pharmaceutical pipelines has become an essential function of pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies and managed care organizations (MCOs); one source of pharmaceutical pipeline information is subscription-based pharmaceutical pipeline databases. Examples of some of these databases, along with the types of information provided and advantages and disadvantages of such products, are presented.
This article reviews the 10 newly improved or investigational agents evaluated in this year's "Focus on" column and includes an update on the regulatory status of each drug.
Prasugrel is a thienopyridine prodrug under FDA review for the treatment of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) managed with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Clinical trials have demonstrated statistically significant inhibition of platelet aggregation with prasugrel relative to placebo and clopidogrel; however, this improved efficacy outcome entails a significantly increased rate of bleeding.
Recent FDA action (through November 2008) related to aztreonam lysine, fentanyl buccal, tocilizumab, everolimus, ENB-0040, and artemether/lumefantrine
Generic drugs approved by FDA (through November 2008) including galantamine extended-release capsules and carbidopa/levodopa orally disintegrating tablets
Recent FDA approvals (through November 2008) related to Gardasil, Gamunex, Alimta, Nasacort AQ, ProAir HFA, Keppra XR, and Taxus Express2 Atom Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System
Agents in late-stage development for the treatment of insomnia and restless legs syndrome (RLS)
Year-end "Focus on": News and updates on the novel pharmacologic agents reviewed over the past 12 months; Focus on prasugrel; Pharmaceutical pipeline database products
Merck has announced that they are discontinuing development of taranabant, an investigational selective blocker of the cannabinoid-1 (CB-1) receptor that was being studied for the treatment of obesity.
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