By Nancy Lapid
(Reuters) – An experimental drug being developed by Sanofi significantly curbed progression of aortic valve stenosis, a common heart problem, in clinical trials, potentially preventing the need for surgery, researchers reported.
Aortic valve stenosis, a narrowing due to calcium deposits that forces the heart to work harder to move blood to the body, currently can only be monitored until the condition becomes severe enough to warrant valve replacement surgery.
The drug ataciguat has been tested in early and mid-stage trials of patients with moderate aortic valve stenosis.
The most recent 23-patient trial showed a nearly 70% reduction in aortic valve calcification progression at six months compared to placebo. Patients receiving ataciguat tended to maintain better heart muscle function as well, researchers reported in the journal Circulation.
“This research represents a significant advancement in the treatment of aortic valve stenosis,” study leader Jordan Miller of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota said in a statement.
“Ataciguat has the potential to substantially delay or even prevent the need for valve replacement surgery, significantly improving the lives of millions.”
Patients who require valve replacement before age 55 are highly likely to need additional valve replacement surgeries over their lifetime due to recalcification of the implanted valve, Miller said.
By slowing progression of the disease in the patient’s native aortic valve, ataciguat offers the potential for a once-in-a-lifetime procedure, because valves implanted in older people are less likely to calcify, he said.
Sanofi is planning a larger late-stage trial of ataciguat that could be used to seek regulatory approval.
HIDDEN LUNG PROBLEMS DISCOVERED IN CHILDREN WITH LONG COVID
An advanced type of magnetic resonance imaging has revealed significant – and previously unrecognized – lung abnormalities in children and adolescents with long COVID, researchers reported on Tuesday in Radiology.
Conventional exams in young patients with suspected long COVID – such as pulmonary function tests, echocardiography and reviews of medical history – often show normal lung and cardiac function, the researchers said.
“Parents should understand that their children’s persistent symptoms after COVID-19 may have a measurable physiological basis, even when standard medical tests appear normal,” study leader Dr. Gesa Pohler of Hannover Medical School in Germany said in a statement.
The advanced technology, known as a phase-resolved functional lung (PREFUL) MRI, showed that children and adolescents with long COVID had significantly reduced blood flow in the lungs compared with healthy counterparts.
In addition to poor blood flow, a subgroup of long COVID patients with cardiopulmonary symptoms, such as shortness of breath, also showed a reduction of air movement and reach in the lungs.
PREFUL MRI is particularly suitable for use in children because it doesn’t involve radiation or intravenous contrast agents and can be done while the patient breathes freely, the researchers noted.
The tool may become a useful means of classifying and monitoring the severity of long COVID in youngsters going forward, Pohler said.
(Reporting by Nancy Lapid; editing by Bill Berkrot)
Comments