To compare a structuralized sick-leave programme with usual care sick-leave management in patients after an acute myocardial infarction. We hypothesize that a structured sick-leave programme will ...yield a faster return to work without negatively affecting quality of life.
Patients admitted to Oslo University Hospital due to an acute myocardial infarction were included in the study. Patients were randomized into an intervention group or a conventional care group. Patients randomized to the intervention group were provided with a standard programme with full-time sick leave for 2 weeks after discharge and then encouraged to return to work. The sick leave of the conventional group was mainly managed by their general practitioner.
A total of 143 patients were included in the study. The conventional care group had a mean of 20.4 days absent from work, while that of the intervention group was significantly lower, with a mean of 17.2 days (p < 0.001) absent. There was no significant change in quality of life between the groups.
These findings strengthen the case for structuralized follow-up of patients with acute myocardial infarction, as this will have positive economic consequences for the patient and society as a whole, without making quality of life worse. Further investigation, with a larger study population, is warranted to determine the extent of health benefits conferred by early return to work.
Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) improve cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). The comparative efficacy of individual SGLT2i remains unclear. We ...searched PubMed,
www.clinicaltrials.gov
and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for randomised controlled trials exploring the use of canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, empagliflozin or ertugliflozin in patients with T2D. Comparators included placebo or any other active treatment. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. Secondary endpoints were cardiovascular mortality and worsening heart failure (HF). Evidence was synthesised using network meta-analysis (NMA). Sixty-four trials reporting on 74,874 patients were included. The overall quality of evidence was high. When compared with placebo, empagliflozin and canagliflozin improved all three endpoints, whereas dapagliflozin improved worsening HF. When compared with other SGLT2i, empagliflozin was superior for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality reduction. Empagliflozin, canagliflozin and dapagliflozin had similar effects on improving worsening HF. Ertugliflozin had no effect on any of the three endpoints investigated. Sensitivity analyses including extension periods of trials or excluding studies with a treatment duration of < 52 weeks confirmed the main results. Similar results were obtained when restricting mortality analyses to patients included in cardiovascular outcome trials (
n
= 38,719). Empagliflozin and canagliflozin improved survival with empagliflozin being superior to the other SGLT2i. Empagliflozin, canagliflozin and dapagliflozin had similar effects on improving worsening HF. Prospective head-to-head comparisons would be needed to confirm these results.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Background
Receptor selectivity of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) varies greatly between agents. The overall improvement of cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in heart failure (HF) ...patients varies between trials. We, therefore, evaluated the comparative efficacy of individual SGLT2i and the influence of their respective receptor selectivity thereon.
Methods
We identified randomized controlled trials investigating the use of SGLT2i in patients with HF—either as the target cohort or as a subgroup of it. Comparators included placebo or any other active treatment. The primary endpoint was the composite of hospitalization for HF or CV death. Secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality, CV mortality, hospitalization for HF, worsening renal function (RF), and the composite of worsening RF or CV death. Evidence was synthesized using network meta-analysis. In addition, the impact of receptor selectivity on outcomes was analysed using meta-regression.
Results
We identified 18,265 patients included in 22 trials. Compared to placebo, selective and non-selective SGLT2i improved fatal and non-fatal HF events. Head-to-head comparisons suggest superior efficacy with sotagliflozin as compared to dapagliflozin, empagliflozin or ertugliflozin. No significant difference was found between canagliflozin and sotagliflozin. Meta-regression analyses show a decreasing benefit on HF events with increasing receptor selectivity of SGLT2i. In contrast, receptor selectivity did not affect mortality and renal endpoints and no significant difference between individual SGLT2i was noted.
Conclusion
Our data point towards a class-effect of SGLT2i on mortality and renal outcomes. However, non-selective SGLT2i such as sotagliflozin may be superior to highly selective SGLT2i in terms of HF outcomes.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Inflammatory arthritis (IA), including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), leads to increased cardiovascular disease occurrence probably due to ...atherosclerosis. One of the first stages in atherogenesis is endothelial dysfunction (ED). Therefore, we aimed to compare endothelial function (EF) in patients with IA, and to examine the effects of methotrexate (MTX) monotherapy and antitumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) treatment with or without MTX comedication (anti-TNF ± MTX) on EF.
From the PSARA observational study, all patients with RA (n = 64), PsA (n = 29), and AS (n = 20) were evaluated for EF. In patients with ED at baseline (n = 40), we evaluated changes in the Reactive Hyperemic Index (RHI) after 6 weeks and 6 months of antirheumatic therapy.
In IA patients with ED, RHI significantly improved after 6 weeks (p < 0.001) and 6 months (p < 0.001) of treatment, independent of changes in disease activity parameters. After 6 months, RHI had improved more in the MTX group than in the anti-TNF ± MTX group, and the difference remained statistically significant after adjustments for potential confounders. Among patients with active RA, AS, and PsA, those with AS appeared to have the worst endothelial function, although they were the youngest.
Treatment with MTX and anti-TNF ± MTX was associated with a relatively fast improvement of EF in IA patients with ED, independent of change in disease activity. Therefore, modes of action other than the anti-inflammatory effect may contribute to the EF improvement. After 6 months, the EF improvement was more pronounced in the MTX group than in the anti-TNF ± MTX group.
Clinicaltrials, NCT00902005 . Registered on 13 May 2009.
Matrix Metalloproteinases in Atherothrombosis Bäck, Magnus; Ketelhuth, Daniel F.J; Agewall, Stefan
Progress in cardiovascular diseases,
03/2010, Volume:
52, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Abstract The metalloproteinases (MMPs, matrixins) are zinc-containing endopeptidases involved in the metabolism of extracellular matrix as well as in the cleavage of other proteins. The MMP family ...currently consists of 28 enzymes with somewhat different activities. The members are in part categorized into groups according to either structure or preferred substrates and referred to as collagenases, gelatinases, stromelysins, matrilysins, and membrane-bound MMPs. The proteinase activities exerted by 11 of the 28 MMPs have been implicated in some of the biologic processes associated with atherosclerosis and its ischemic clinical manifestations such as myocardial infarction and stroke. For example, several of the MMPs are locally expressed within human atherosclerotic lesions. However, association studies of subclinical atherosclerosis have generated contradictory results in the role of MMP activities. In addition, circulating MMP levels as well as genetic variations within the genes encoding the different enzymes have been associated with both an increased and decreased cardiovascular risk. Finally, experimental studies of hyperlipemic mice and vascular injury have suggested some of the MMPs function as modulators of atherogenesis, vascular remodeling, and plaque rupture.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPUK
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