XML Feed for RxPG News   Add RxPG News Headlines to My Yahoo!   Javascript Syndication for RxPG News

Research Health World General
 
  Home
 
 Latest Research
 Cancer
 Psychiatry
 Genetics
 Surgery
 Aging
 Ophthalmology
 Gynaecology
 Neurosciences
  Memory
  Regeneration
  Stroke
  Brain Diseases
  Headache
  Spinal Cord Diseases
  Demyelinating Diseases
  Neurodegenerative Diseases
  Taste
  Trigeminal Neuralgia
 Pharmacology
 Cardiology
 Obstetrics
 Infectious Diseases
 Respiratory Medicine
 Pathology
 Endocrinology
 Immunology
 Nephrology
 Gastroenterology
 Biotechnology
 Radiology
 Dermatology
 Microbiology
 Haematology
 Dental
 ENT
 Environment
 Embryology
 Orthopedics
 Metabolism
 Anaethesia
 Paediatrics
 Public Health
 Urology
 Musculoskeletal
 Clinical Trials
 Physiology
 Biochemistry
 Cytology
 Traumatology
 Rheumatology
 
 Medical News
 Health
 Opinion
 Healthcare
 Professionals
 Launch
 Awards & Prizes
 
 Careers
 Medical
 Nursing
 Dental
 
 Special Topics
 Euthanasia
 Ethics
 Evolution
 Odd Medical News
 Feature
 
 World News
 Tsunami
 Epidemics
 Climate
 Business
 
 India
Search

Last Updated: Nov 18, 2006 - 12:32:53 PM

Stroke Channel
subscribe to Stroke newsletter

Latest Research : Neurosciences : Stroke

   DISCUSS   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT
SPARCL Trial: Atorvastatin reduces recurrent stroke risk
Aug 10, 2006 - 3:06:00 PM, Reviewed by: Dr. Sanjukta Acharya

"The findings are very important for physicians and patients because they show that the addition of this drug to other treatments further reduces the risk of another stroke, which is a pretty big step in improving what we can do for stroke patients."

 
In people who have experienced a stroke, but who have no known history of coronary heart disease, beginning regular treatment with the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin soon after the stroke can reduce the risk of recurrent stroke by 16 percent, according to a five-year study led by an international team that includes a researcher at Duke University Medical Center.

The results of the study, called the Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) trial, appear in the August 10, 2006, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The study was funded by Pfizer, the manufacturer of atorvastatin.

"This is the first study to demonstrate that treatment with a statin, a type of cholesterol-lowering drug, can reduce the risk of strokes in patients who have had a recent stroke or a transient ischemic attack and who have no known history of coronary heart disease," said Larry B. Goldstein, M.D., director of the Duke Stroke Center and a member of the SPARCL steering committee.

A transient ischemic attack is similar to a stroke, but is of shorter duration and severity. Often referred to as a ministroke, it is considered a warning sign or prelude for stroke.

"These results will have a major effect on how people are treated following a stroke," Goldstein said. "The findings are very important for physicians and patients because they show that the addition of this drug to other treatments further reduces the risk of another stroke, which is a pretty big step in improving what we can do for stroke patients."

Previous studies, Goldstein said, have demonstrated that atorvastatin and other drugs within the class of medications called statins could reduce risk of stroke in patients who have a history of coronary disease. Coronary heart disease is a narrowing of the small blood vessels that supply blood to the heart, usually due to a build-up of cholesterol. It is a leading cause of death for Americans, he added.

The study results showed that atorvastatin -- sold as Lipitor -- in addition to reducing recurrent stroke risk, can also reduce stroke patients' risk of heart attack and other major coronary events by 35 percent; their risk of cardiovascular events such as unstable angina by 42 percent; and their need for coronary revascularization procedures, such as coronary artery bypass grafting or cardiac catheterization, by 45 percent, compared to treatment with an inactive placebo.

In the trial, the researchers enrolled 4,731 patients at 205 study sites in Africa, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America. All of the patients had experienced either a stroke or a transient ischemic attack within six months of their enrollment. The patients averaged 63 years of age; 60 percent were male and 40 percent female. Patients were monitored for an average of five years following enrollment.

At the time of their enrollment, roughly 66 percent of the patients had experienced an ischemic stroke, which occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain is suddenly blocked; 2 percent had experienced a hemorrhagic stroke, which occurs due to a leaking blood vessel in the brain; and 30 percent had experienced a transient ischemic attack.

Ninety-four percent of the patients enrolled were already being treated with aspirin or medications that reduce clotting of the blood, and 69 percent of the patients, most of whom had high blood pressure, were receiving treatment with blood-pressure lowering medications. Those treatments were continued during the patients' participation in the SPARCL study.

The researchers randomly assigned patients to receive either 80 milligrams per day of atorvastatin or an inactive placebo. The study was double-blinded, meaning that neither the researchers nor the patients knew in advance which patients were receiving the active medication.

The study found that atorvastatin, compared with the placebo, reduced the risk of fatal and nonfatal strokes by 16 percent.

This overall reduction in the risk of stroke was present despite a small increase in the number of patients having one of the types of stroke, hemorrhagic stroke. Due to the small number of people recruited into the SPARCL trial with a previous hemorrhagic stroke, the researchers said that it is not possible to reach any meaningful conclusions regarding their risks and benefits with atorvastatin treatment.

The researchers suggest that the drug appears to exercise its overall protective effect by lowering the levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol -- popularly known as "bad" cholesterol -- in patients' blood. High levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood are known to increase the risk of coronary heart disease, a risk factor for stroke as well as heart attack.

Patients who received atorvastatin had an average LDL cholesterol level of 73 milligrams per deciliter of blood, compared with an average of 129 milligrams per deciliter for patients on placebo, the researchers said.
 

- August 10, 2006, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine
 

medschool.duke.edu

 
Subscribe to Stroke Newsletter
E-mail Address:

 

The SPARCL study, including the work of the steering committee, was supported by Pfizer. Goldstein also has consulted for Pfizer and other manufacturers of statin medications.

Other members of the SPARCL steering committee, who also were co-authors of the report, include Pierre Amarenco of Denis Diderot University, Paris, France; Julien Bogousslavsky of University of Lausanne, Switzerland; Alfred S. Callahan III of Neurologic Consultants, P.C., Nashville, Tenn.; Michael Hennerici of Universitat Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany; Henrik Sillesen of University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Justin Zivin of the University of California at San Diego; and K. Michael A. Welch of the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Chicago, who chaired the steering committee. Other co-authors, who are not members of the steering committee, include Amy E. Rudolph, Lisa Simunovic and Michael Szarek, all of Pfizer.


Related Stroke News

New Effort to Treat Stroke More Effectively
REGARDS Study: Stroke Symptoms Common Among General Population
Video game for stroke rehabilitation?
Internal body clock dictates timing of different types of stroke
Stroke Costs in US set to top $2 trillion dollars
Agratroban May Promote Opening Of Arteries Following Stroke
SPARCL Trial: Atorvastatin reduces recurrent stroke risk
Healthy Lifestyle Reduces Women's Stroke Risk
Wingspan Intra-Cranial Stent, Alternative to Brain Surgery?
Blood pressure variability increases risk for stroke death


For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 

© Copyright 2004 onwards by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited
Contact Us