Eslicarbazepine acetate as monotherapy in clinical practice: Outcomes from Euro-Esli

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness and safety/tolerability of eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) monotherapy in clinical practice in Europe. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Euro-Esli was a pooled analysis of 14 European clinical practice studies. Responder rate (≥50% seizure frequency reduction) and seizure freedom rate (seizure freedom at least since prior visit) were assessed after 3, 6 and 12 months of ESL treatment and at last visit. Adverse events (AEs) and AEs leading to ESL discontinuation were assessed throughout follow-up. A subanalysis was conducted to assess outcomes for patients treated initially with ESL monotherapy and for patients treated at the last visit with ESL monotherapy. RESULTS: ESL was used as monotherapy in 88/2045 (4.3%) patients initially and in 229/1340 (17.1%) patients at the last visit. At 12 months, responder and seizure freedom rates were 94.1% and 88.2%, respectively, in patients treated initially with ESL monotherapy, and 93.2% and 77.4%, respectively, in patients treated at the last visit with ESL monotherapy. Corresponding values for patients treated initially with ESL adjunctive therapy were 74.8% and 39.0%, respectively; and for patients treated at the last visit with ESL adjunctive therapy, corresponding values were 70.4% and 25.9%, respectively. Safety and tolerability were generally comparable in patients treated with ESL as monotherapy or adjunctive therapy. The most commonly reported AEs (≥5% of patients in any group) were dizziness, somnolence, instability/ataxia, and fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: These clinical practice data support the use of ESL as monotherapy, as well as adjunctive therapy, for focal-onset seizures, complementing evidence from clinical trials.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lack of benefit of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors in COVID-19

No abstract available

Editorial: Why should we read Dalit literature?

<p>(A) BDNF and (B) NCAM1 expression in the VTA of mice exposed to ABA conditions. Insets indicate mean BDNF and NCAM1 expression during restriction for the independent measure depicted. Results expressed as mean log2(RQ) ± S.E.M. p<0.05. STV, starved mice exposed to food restriction and house without a wheel; RUN, mice exposed to wheel running; ABA, mice exposed to ABA conditions; W, wheel; FR, food restriction.</p

Prevalence of prediabetes and undiagnosed diabetes in patients with HFpEF and HFrEF and associated clinical outcomes

Purpose: The prevalence and consequences of prediabetic dysglycemia and undiagnosed diabetes is unknown in patients with heart failure (HF) and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and has not been compared to heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Methods: We examined the prevalence and outcomes associated with normoglycemia, prediabetic dysglycemia and diabetes (diagnosed and undiagnosed) among individuals with a baseline glycated hemoglobin (hemoglobin A1c, HbA1c) measurement stratified by HFrEF or HFpEF in the Candesartan in Heart failure Assessment of Reduction in Mortality and morbidity programme (CHARM). We studied the primary outcome of HF hospitalization or cardiovascular (CV) death, and all-cause death, and estimated hazard ratios (HR) by use of multivariable Cox regression models. Results: HbA1c was measured at baseline in CHARM patients enrolled in the USA and Canada and was available in 1072/3023 (35%) of patients with HFpEF and 1578/4576 (34%) patients with HFrEF. 18 and 16% had normoglycemia (HbA1c &lt; 6.0), 20 and 22% had prediabetes (HbA1c 6.0–6.4), respectively. Finally among patients with HFpEF 22% had undiagnosed diabetes (HbA1c &gt; 6.4), and 40% had known diabetes (any HbA1c), with corresponding prevalence among HFrEF patients being 26 and 35%. The rates of both clinical outcomes of interest were higher in patients with undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes, compared to normoglycemic patients, irrespective of HF subtype, and in general higher among HFrEF patients. For the primary composite outcome among HFpEF patients, the HRs were 1.02 (95% CI 0.63–1.65) for prediabetes, HR 1.18 (0.75–1.86) for undiagnosed diabetes and 2.75 (1.83–4.11) for known diabetes, respectively, p value for trend across groups &lt; 0.001. Dysglycemia was also associated with worse outcomes in HFrEF. Conclusions: These findings confirm the remarkably high prevalence of dysglycemia in heart failure irrespective of ejection fraction phenotype, and demonstrate that dysglycemia is associated with a higher risk of adverse clinical outcomes, even before the diagnosis of diabetes and institution of glucose lowering therapy in patients with HFpEF as well as HFrEF

Baseline characteristics and treatment of patients in prospective comparison of ARNI with ACEI to determine impact on global mortality and morbidity in heart failure trial (PARADIGM-HF)

Aim&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; To describe the baseline characteristics and treatment of the patients randomized in the PARADIGM-HF (Prospective comparison of ARNi with ACEi to Determine Impact on Global Mortality and morbidity in Heart Failure) trial, testing the hypothesis that the strategy of simultaneously blocking the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system and augmenting natriuretic peptides with LCZ696 200 mg b.i.d. is superior to enalapril 10 mg b.i.d. in reducing mortality and morbidity in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Methods&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Key demographic, clinical and laboratory findings, along with baseline treatment, are reported and compared with those of patients in the treatment arm of the Studies Of Left Ventricular Dysfunction (SOLVD-T) and more contemporary drug and device trials in heart failure and reduced ejection fraction.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Results&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; The mean age of the 8442 patients in PARADIGM-HF is 64 (SD 11) years and 78% are male, which is similar to SOLVD-T and more recent trials. Despite extensive background therapy with beta-blockers (93% patients) and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (60%), patients in PARADIGM-HF have persisting symptoms and signs, reduced health related quality of life, a low LVEF (mean 29 ± SD 6%) and elevated N-terminal-proB type-natriuretic peptide levels (median 1608 inter-quartile range 886–3221 pg/mL).&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Conclusion&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; PARADIGM-HF will determine whether LCZ696 is more beneficial than enalapril when added to other disease-modifying therapies and if further augmentation of endogenous natriuretic peptides will reduce morbidity and mortality in heart failure and reduced ejection fractio

Effects of dalcetrapib in patients with a recent acute coronary syndrome

In observational analyses, higher levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol have been associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease events. However, whether raising HDL cholesterol levels therapeutically reduces cardiovascular risk remains uncertain. Inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) raises HDL cholesterol levels and might therefore improve cardiovascular outcomes

Reporting of lost to follow-up and treatment discontinuation in device and pharmacotherapy trials in chronic heart failure: a systematic review

Background—Premature treatment discontinuation and loss to follow-up (LTFU) with unknown outcomes leave uncertainty about the true efficacy and safety of a treatment and a lack of confidence in the results of any trial. We reviewed the extent of (and trends over time in) reporting LTFU and treatment discontinuation in large studies in chronic heart failure published since 1990. Methods and Results—Online databases were systematically reviewed to identify randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) in chronic heart failure with &gt;400 participants and utilizing all-cause mortality as a component of the primary or secondary end point. Assessments were made of documentation of treatment discontinuation, LTFU, inclusion of and completeness of a Consolidated Standards Of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) diagram, and whether LTFU was differentiated from withdrawal of consent. Sixty-eight trials were identified, with &gt;154 000 participants. Reasons for treatment discontinuation in pharmacotherapy trials were infrequently reported (35%), particularly in a CONSORT diagram (20%). Eighty-three percent of trials reported LTFU, although only 34% of these differentiated LTFU for vital status from withdrawal of consent. Use of a CONSORT diagram increased over time, although reporting of LTFU in the CONSORT diagram remained low overall at 35%. Conclusions—Participant flow through RCTs in chronic heart failure has not been uniformly reported, and the use of a complete CONSORT diagram has been low, although it seems to be improving. All study participants should be accounted for within a CONSORT diagram in any RCT to enable the practicing cardiologist to interpret how the results should influence his/her clinical practice

NIRVSS Aboard CLPS

NASA initiated the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program for flights to the lunar surface. Astrobotic was awarded a NASA contract to accommodate NASA payloads onto their Peregrine lander Astrobotic Mission One (ABM-1). ABM-1 is scheduled to land near Lacus Mortis, 44N 25E, in 2021. The Near-InfraRed Volatile Spectrometer System (NIRVSS) has evolved over time and was chosen as a NASA payload for ABM-1 and the flight model is scheduled to be delivered to Astrobotic at the end of March 2020