Lipid-regulating drugs

PCSK9 inhibitor shows plaque reduction benefit

Patients with coronary disease who were treated with evolocumab achieved lower LDL-C levels and greater plaque reduction, trial results show.…

Clinical Pharmacist’s top five research articles of 2016

Michael Dowdall breaks down the most popular research articles published in 2016.…

Statins effective at preventing first heart attack or stroke

Statins were associated with a 36% lower risk of heart attack and 29% lower risk of stroke compared with placebo in a review of data from more than 70,000 patients.…

Same health outcomes for non-medical and medical prescribing

Non-medical prescribers, including pharmacists, are just as effective at prescribing medicines as medical prescribers, according to the results of a Cochrane Review published on 22 November 2016.…

Fixed dose combination products have little impact on medicines adherence

While persistence rates favoured patients taking a fixed dose combination of a statin and ezetimibe, it made no difference to adherence, researchers found.…

High-intensity statin treatment increases chance of survival

Patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease receiving high-intensity statins — including those aged over 75 years — have a lower risk of death than those on a lower-intensity statin, according to new research.…

PCSK9 inhibitors help patients reach cholesterol targets, review finds

Systematic review of data from more than 10,000 patients shows how anti-PCSK9 monoclonal antibodies can help patients achieve LDL-C targets as monotherapy or with statins.…

Article on statin safety makes unproven assertions

With publication of the review article in The Lancet on 8 September 2016 looking at the efficacy and safety of statin therapy, the pressure on GPs to prescribe high-intensity statins to low-risk people has become even greater. Under the heading ‘Proven beneficial effects of statin therapy…

Pharmacist prescribing helps more patients achieve cholesterol targets

Community pharmacists who prescribe lipid-lowering medicines as part of a package of care can help more patients achieve their cholesterol target compared with those given traditional care by a physician, according to new research.…