The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has expanded the recall of a commonly prescribed blood pressure drug due to contamination with a cancer-linked chemical. The announcement included five additional lots of Losartan made by Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited. The additional lots include losartan potassium tablets and losartan potassium/hydrochlorothiazide tablets. The drug is commonly used to treat high blood pressure in patients with or without left ventricular hypertrophy, an abnormal enlargement of the heart’s left ventricle, or for the treatment of nephropathy in people with type 2 diabetes. The recall comes following a discovery of trace amounts of N-methylnitrosobutyric acid, or NMBA, which has been linked to cancer.
Demonstrated Associations Between Fluctuating Blood Pressure and Cognitive Decline in Dementia
A study analysis published in the journal Hypertension examines previous research linking Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia to fluctuating blood pressure. Within the analysis, researchers looked at data from NILVAD--a double-bline, placebo controlled phase III trial consisting of 460 patients. The team of researchers found that after 1.5 years, patients who appeared to have the highest blood pressure variability demonstrated a faster rate of cognitive decline than those whose blood pressure did not significantly vary. Following these findings, researchers further analyzed the data of a subset of 46 participants and found “significant associations” between blood pressure fluctuations and quicker progression of cognitive decline after 1 year. In a statement, senior author Dr. Jurgen Claassen, from Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, Netherlands shared: "Everybody already knows that it's important to control blood pressure in midlife to reduce your risk of Alzheimer's later, but this tells us it's still important to regulate blood pressure when you already have dementia."
FDA Approves Canagliflozin For Diabetic Kidney Disease and Heart Failure
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of canagliflozin (Invokana) for the treatment of diabetic kidney disease and for the reduction of the risk of hospitalization for heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes and diabetic kidney disease. The approval comes following the results from the phase 3 CREDENCE trial. In the study, patients who received canagliflozin experienced a 30% reduction in the risk of the primary composite endpoint, which included end-stage kidney disease, doubling of serum creatinine, and renal or cardiovascular death. Further, the risk of secondary outcomes were also significantly reduced, including a 39% reduction in the risk of hospitalization for heart failure. The decision marks the first drug indicated for diabetic kidney disease treatment in 20 years.
Researchers Examine Metabolic Activity in Central Neural Areas of Patients with Myocardial Injury
Research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association investigates the interaction between myocardial injury and metabolic alteration in central neural structures in patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease and injury. The researchers found that myocardial dysfunction and injury are associated with reduced resting metabolic activity of central neural structures including corpus callosum, caudate nucleus, and the brainstem. Further, the research demonstrated that associations differed between men and women, explaining: “As nuclei within these brain regions have been identified as key modulators of cardiorespiratory pathways, our data suggest that the central adaption process to myocardial injury is modulated by sex.” The researchers concluded that the study “further supports the investigation of sex‐specific risk stratification and disease management,” and that “neural disease responses might carry important prognostic information for cardiovascular disease management.”
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Since receiving his MD at the Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Ballantyne has built a prestigious career in clinical research and education, receiving continuous funding from the NIH since joining the faculty in 1988 in basic research of leukocyte-endothelial interactions, translations research in biomarker and clinical trials. As one of the nation’s foremost experts on lipids, atherosclerosis and heart disease prevention, Dr. Christie M. Ballantyne serves as an established investigator for the American Heart Association. Among various editorial roles, Dr. Ballantyne currently serves as the Vice Chair of Research Medicine, the Chief of Cardiovascular Research, and the Director of the Lipid Metabolism and Atherosclerosis Clinic Center for Cardiometabolic Disease Prevention at Baylor College of Medicine. Recognized twice by Thomson Reuters as one of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds,” Dr. Ballantyne’s ongoing research and leadership has left a profound impact on the practice of cardiological care
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Noticing a lack of clinical trial data available to inform blood pressure guidelines in young adults with type 1 diabetes, Dr. Jingchuan Guo and colleagues aimed to determine optimal BP goals for reducing CAD risk in adults with childhood-onset type 1 diabetes. For the analysis, researchers evaluated 605 individuals (mean age 27 years) with youth-onset T1D from the Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications study. Participants did not have CAD at baseline and were followed for 25 years with biennial surveys and examinations.
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