Initial combination therapy with ambrisentan + tadalafil on pulmonary arterial hypertension‒related hospitalization in the AMBITION trial

Background: In the randomized, double-blind, event-driven AMBITION study, initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil was associated with a 50% reduction in risk of clinical failure (first occurrence of all-cause death, hospitalization for worsening pulmonary arterial hypertension [PAH], disease progression, or unsatisfactory long-term clinical response) vs pooled monotherapy. These results were primarily driven by a reduction in PAH-related hospitalization in the combination therapy group, although a significant effect was not observed in a post-hoc analysis of all-cause hospitalization. Methods: The effect of initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil in AMBITION was further explored to study PAH-related hospitalization, which was not reported in the primary publication. Results: Initial combination therapy was associated with a 63% reduction in risk of PAH-related hospitalization when compared with pooled monotherapy (hazard ratio [HR] 0.372, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.217 to 0.639, p = 0.0002). For every 9 patients treated with combination therapy vs monotherapy, 1 PAH-related hospitalization could be prevented over a 1-year period. Serious adverse events leading to hospitalization, not necessarily PAH-related, occurred in 87 of 253 (34%) and 89 of 247 (36%) of patients on combination therapy and pooled monotherapy, respectively (post-hoc summary). Conclusions: Initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil was found to reduce the risk of PAH-related hospitalization by 63% compared with pooled monotherapy

Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension with and without cardiovascular risk factors: Results from the AMBITION trial

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension enrolled in the AMBITION trial with (excluded from the primary analysis set [ex-primary analysis set]) and without (primary analysis set) multiple risk factors for left ventricular diastolic dysfunction. Methods: Treatment-naive patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension were randomized to once-daily ambrisentan and tadalafil combination therapy, ambrisentan monotherapy, or tadalafil monotherapy. The primary end point was time from randomization to first adjudicated clinical failure event. Results: Primary analysis set patients (n = 500), compared with ex-primary analysis set patients (n = 105), were younger (mean, 54.4 vs 62.1 years) with greater baseline 6-minute walk distance (median, 363.7 vs 330.5 meters) and fewer comorbidities (e.g., hypertension and diabetes). Treatment effects of initial combination therapy vs pooled monotherapy were directionally the same for both populations, albeit of a lower magnitude for ex-primary analysis set patients. Initial combination therapy reduced the risk of clinical failure compared with pooled monotherapy in primary analysis set patients (hazard ratio, 0.50; 95% confidence interval, 0.35-0.72), whereas the effect was less clear in ex-primary analysis set patients (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.35-1.37). Overall, primary analysis set patients had fewer clinical failure events (25% vs 33%), higher rates of satisfactory clinical response (34% vs 24%), and lower rates of permanent study drug withdrawal due to adverse events (16% vs 31%) than ex-primary analysis set patients. Conclusions: Efficacy of initial combination therapy vs pooled monotherapy was directionally similar for primary analysis set and ex-primary analysis set patients. However, ex-primary analysis set patients (with multiple risk factors for left ventricular diastolic dysfunction) experienced higher rates of clinical failure events and the response to combination therapy vs monotherapy was attenuated. Tolerability was better in primary analysis set than ex-primary analysis set patients

Development of Theory of Mind in English-speaking Chinese Singaporean Preschoolers

The current study examines Theory of Mind (ToM) development in English-speaking ethnically Chinese 3- to 6-year-old children raised in Singapore, a country influenced by both eastern and western cultures. All tasks were administered in English. Study 1 investigated the vertical development of ToM in 3- to 6-year-olds (N = 65) with five tasks, including diverse desires, diverse beliefs, knowledge access, content false-belief, and explicit false-belief tasks. Results revealed that like English-speaking preschoolers growing up in the West, English-speaking Chinese Singaporean preschoolers develop the understanding of diverse desires and diverse beliefs earlier than the understanding of knowledge access and false beliefs; however, contrary to previous findings in both the West and East, even 5-year-olds had not fully developed the understanding of false beliefs. Study 2 specifically examined the understanding of beliefs through the appearance-reality, deceptive pointing, false belief, and non-mental states control tasks. Results (N = 127) showed that in terms of the development of beliefs, English-speaking Chinese Singaporean preschoolers develop the understanding of the difference between appearance and reality earlier than deception, the understanding of false beliefs regarding location and content. In addition, Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 by showing that even 5 year old English-speaking Chinese Singaporean preschoolers had not fully developed the understanding of false beliefs. Together, these results suggest that the developmental pattern of ToM in English-speaking Chinese Singaporean children is unique, possibly reflecting a mix of East and West, and their unique linguistic experience

Initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil in connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (CTD-PAH): Subgroup analysis from the AMBITION trial

Background: Patients with connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (CTD-PAH), in particular systemic sclerosis (SSc), had an attenuated response compared with idiopathic PAH in most trials. Thus, there is uncertainty regarding the benefit of PAH-targeted therapy in some forms of CTD-PAH. Objective: To explore the safety and efficacy of initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil versus ambrisentan or tadalafil monotherapy in patients with CTD-PAH and SSc-PAH enrolled in the AMBITION trial. Methods: This was a post hoc analysis of patients with CTD-PAH and SSc-PAH from AMBITION, an event-driven, double-blind trial in patients with WHO functional class II/III PAH. Treatment-naive patients were randomised 2:1:1 to once-daily initial combination therapy with ambrisentan plus tadalafil or monotherapy with ambrisentan or tadalafil, respectively. The primary endpoint was time to the first clinical failure event (first occurrence of death, hospitalisation for worsening PAH, disease progression or unsatisfactory long-term clinical response). Results: In the primary analysis set (N=500), 187 patients had CTD-PAH, of whom 118 had SSc-PAH. Initial combination therapy reduced the risk of clinical failure versus pooled monotherapy in each subgroup: CTD-PAH (HR 0.43 (95% CI 0.24 to 0.77)) and SSc-PAH (0.44 (0.22 to 0.89)). The most common AE was peripheral oedema, which was reported more frequently with initial combination therapy than monotherapy in the two PAH subgroups. The relative frequency of adverse events between those on combination therapy versus monotherapy was similar across subgroups. Conclusions: This post hoc subgroup analysis provides evidence that CTD-PAH and SSc-PAH patients benefit from initial ambrisentan and tadalafil combination therapy.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil in connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (CTD-PAH): subgroup analysis from the AMBITION trial

BACKGROUND: Patients with connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (CTD-PAH), in particular systemic sclerosis (SSc), had an attenuated response compared with idiopathic PAH in most trials. Thus, there is uncertainty regarding the benefit of PAH-targeted therapy in some forms of CTD-PAH. OBJECTIVE: To explore the safety and efficacy of initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil versus ambrisentan or tadalafil monotherapy in patients with CTD-PAH and SSc-PAH enrolled in the AMBITION trial. METHODS: This was a post hoc analysis of patients with CTD-PAH and SSc-PAH from AMBITION, an event-driven, double-blind trial in patients with WHO functional class II/III PAH. Treatment-naive patients were randomised 2:1:1 to once-daily initial combination therapy with ambrisentan plus tadalafil or monotherapy with ambrisentan or tadalafil, respectively. The primary endpoint was time to the first clinical failure event (first occurrence of death, hospitalisation for worsening PAH, disease progression or unsatisfactory long-term clinical response). RESULTS: In the primary analysis set (N=500), 187 patients had CTD-PAH, of whom 118 had SSc-PAH. Initial combination therapy reduced the risk of clinical failure versus pooled monotherapy in each subgroup: CTD-PAH (HR 0.43 (95% CI 0.24 to 0.77)) and SSc-PAH (0.44 (0.22 to 0.89)). The most common AE was peripheral oedema, which was reported more frequently with initial combination therapy than monotherapy in the two PAH subgroups. The relative frequency of adverse events between those on combination therapy versus monotherapy was similar across subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: This post hoc subgroup analysis provides evidence that CTD-PAH and SSc-PAH patients benefit from initial ambrisentan and tadalafil combination therapy

Initial Use of Ambrisentan plus Tadalafil in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

BACKGROUND: Data on the effect of initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil on long-term outcomes in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension are scarce. METHODS: In this event-driven, double-blind study, we randomly assigned, in a 2:1:1 ratio, participants with World Health Organization functional class II or III symptoms of pulmonary arterial hypertension who had not previously received treatment to receive initial combination therapy with 10 mg of ambrisentan plus 40 mg of tadalafil (combination-therapy group), 10 mg of ambrisentan plus placebo (ambrisentan-monotherapy group), or 40 mg of tadalafil plus placebo (tadalafil-monotherapy group), all administered once daily. The primary end point in a time-to-event analysis was the first event of clinical failure, which was defined as the first occurrence of a composite of death, hospitalization for worsening pulmonary arterial hypertension, disease progression, or unsatisfactory long-term clinical response. RESULTS: The primary analysis included 500 participants; 253 were assigned to the combination-therapy group, 126 to the ambrisentan-monotherapy group, and 121 to the tadalafil-monotherapy group. A primary end-point event occurred in 18%, 34%, and 28% of the participants in these groups, respectively, and in 31% of the pooled-monotherapy group (the two monotherapy groups combined). The hazard ratio for the primary end point in the combination-therapy group versus the pooled-monotherapy group was 0.50 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.35 to 0.72; P<0.001). At week 24, the combination-therapy group had greater reductions from baseline in N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels than did the pooled-monotherapy group (mean change, -67.2% vs. -50.4%; P<0.001), as well as a higher percentage of patients with a satisfactory clinical response (39% vs. 29%; odds ratio, 1.56 [95% CI, 1.05 to 2.32]; P=0.03) and a greater improvement in the 6-minute walk distance (median change from baseline, 48.98 m vs. 23.80 m; P<0.001). The adverse events that occurred more frequently in the combination-therapy group than in either monotherapy group included peripheral edema, headache, nasal congestion, and anemia. CONCLUSIONS: Among participants with pulmonary arterial hypertension who had not received previous treatment, initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil resulted in a significantly lower risk of clinical-failure events than the risk with ambrisentan or tadalafil monotherapy