Effect of Adding Ticagrelor to Standard Aspirin on Saphenous Vein Graft Patency in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (POPular CABG) A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Approximately 15% of saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) occlude during the first year after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) despite aspirin use. The POPular CABG trial (The Effect of Ticagrelor on Saphenous Vein Graft Patency in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery) investigated whether ticagrelor added to standard aspirin improves SVG patency at 1 year after CABG. METHODS: In this investigator-initiated, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial, patients with ≥1 SVGs were randomly assigned (1:1) after CABG to ticagrelor or placebo added to standard aspirin (80 mg or 100 mg). The primary outcome was SVG occlusion at 1 year, assessed with coronary computed tomography angiography, in all patients that had primary outcome imaging available. A generalized estimating equation model was used to perform the primary analysis per SVG. The secondary outcome was 1-year SVG failure, which was a composite of SVG occlusion, SVG revascularization, myocardial infarction in myocardial territory supplied by a SVG, or sudden death. RESULTS: Among 499 randomly assigned patients, the mean age was 67.9±8.3 years, 87.1% were male, the indication for CABG was acute coronary syndrome in 31.3%, and 95.2% of procedures used cardiopulmonary bypass. Primary outcome imaging was available in 220 patients in the ticagrelor group and 223 patients in the placebo group. The SVG occlusion rate in the ticagrelor group was 10.5% (51 of 484 SVGs) versus 9.1% in the placebo group (43 of 470 SVGs), odds ratio, 1.29 [95% CI, 0.73-2.30]; P=0.38. SVG failure occurred in 35 (14.2%) patients in the ticagrelor group versus 29 (11.6%) patients in the placebo group (odds ratio, 1.22 [95% CI, 0.72-2.05]). CONCLUSIONS: In this randomized, placebo-controlled trial, the addition of ticagrelor to standard aspirin did not reduce SVG occlusion at 1 year after CABG. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02352402

Aspirin with or without Clopidogrel after Transcatheter Aortic-Valve Implantation

BACKGROUND The effect of single as compared with dual antiplatelet treatment on bleeding and thromboembolic events after transcatheter aortic-valve implantation (TAVI) in patients who do not have an indication for long-term anticoagulation has not been well studied. METHODS In a randomized, controlled trial, we assigned a subgroup of patients who were undergoing TAVI and did not have an indication for long-term anticoagulation, in a 1:1 ratio, to receive aspirin alone or aspirin plus clopidogrel for 3 months. The two primary outcomes were all bleeding (including minor, major, and life-threatening or disabling bleeding) and non-procedure-related bleeding over a period of 12 months. Most bleeding at the TAVI puncture site was counted as non-procedure-related. The two secondary outcomes were a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, non-procedure-related bleeding, stroke, or myocardial infarction (secondary composite 1) and a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, ischemic stroke, or myocardial infarction (secondary composite 2) at 1 year, with both outcomes tested sequentially for noninferiority (noninferiority margin, 7.5 percentage points) and superiority. RESULTS A total of 331 patients were assigned to receive aspirin alone and 334 were assigned to receive aspirin plus clopidogrel. A bleeding event occurred in 50 patients (15.1%) receiving aspirin alone and in 89 (26.6%) receiving aspirin plus clopidogrel (risk ratio, 0.57; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.42 to 0.77; P=0.001). Non-procedure-related bleeding occurred in 50 patients (15.1%) and 83 patients (24.9%), respectively (risk ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.83; P=0.005). A secondary composite 1 event occurred in 76 patients (23.0%) receiving aspirin alone and in 104 (31.1%) receiving aspirin plus clopidogrel (difference, −8.2 percentage points; 95% CI for noninferiority, −14.9 to −1.5; P<0.001; risk ratio, 0.74; 95% CI for superiority, 0.57 to 0.95; P=0.04). A secondary composite 2 event occurred in 32 patients (9.7%) and 33 patients (9.9%), respectively (difference, −0.2 percentage points; 95% CI for noninferiority, −4.7 to 4.3; P=0.004; risk ratio, 0.98; 95% CI for superiority, 0.62 to 1.55; P=0.93). A total of 44 patients (13.3%) and 32 (9.6%), respectively, received oral anticoagulation during the trial. CONCLUSIONS Among patients undergoing TAVI who did not have an indication for oral anticoagulation, the incidence of bleeding and the composite of bleeding or thromboembolic events at 1 year were significantly less frequent with aspirin than with aspirin plus clopidogrel administered for 3 months

<i>Figla</i>-<i>Cre</i> Transgenic Mice Expressing Myristoylated EGFP in Germ Cells Provide a Model for Investigating Perinatal Oocyte Dynamics

<div><p>FIGLA (Factor in the germline, alpha) is a bHLH transcription factor expressed abundantly in female and less so in male germ cells. Mice lacking FIGLA do not form primordial follicles in the ovary and females are sterile, but there is no obvious phenotype in males. Using the <i>Figla</i> promoter to express Cre recombinase, we have established <i>mEGFP/mTomato</i> reporter mice with green germ cells and red somatic tissue. These mice were crossed into the <i>Figla</i> null background to accelerate perinatal oocyte loss. Live imaging of cultured newborn ovaries provides evidence that few oocytes egress and the vast majority disappear within the confines of the ovary. Although a cohort of mobile, phagocytic cells was observed, macrophage depletion in <i>Csf1^op/op</i> mice did not affect oocyte loss. Investigations with TUNEL assays and caspase inhibitors suggest that apoptosis plays a role in the perinatal loss of oocyte in female mice. These results establish the utility of <i>Figla-EGFP/Cre; mTomato/mEGFP</i> in investigating germ cell dynamics in prepubertal mice.</p></div