Biomedical subjects

Ursula Gresser

Publications and source records attributed to Ursula Gresser.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Atorvastatin: gold standard for prophylaxis of myocardial ischemia and stroke - comparison of the clinical benefit of statins on the basis of randomized controlled endpoint studies.

AIM: of this study was to compare the clinical benefit - reduction of heart attacks, strokes or deaths - of the different statins applying the results of randomized controlled endpoint studies. - METHOD: We analyzed 11 published randomized controlled endpoint studies statin-to-placebo looking for the cardiovasculoprotective benefit of the 5 statins (atorvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, simvastatin) tested: AFCAPS/TexCAPS, ASCOT, CARE, FLORIDA, HPS, PROSPER, LIPID, LIPS, MIRACL, 4S, WOSCOPS. - RESULTS: 1. Statins produced substantial benefit for the patients, reducing the rate of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. 2. This benefit was independent of the patient's initial cholesterol or LDL-cholesterol concentrations and could also be demonstrated in patients who had average or low cholesterol levels. 3. Men and women showed a comparable benefit from statin treatment, elderly patients a little more than younger patients. 4. The statins did not have like effects. There were clear differences in potency as well as in the interval between initiation of treatment and the onset of clinical benefit. 5. Estimating 5 years of treatment, cardiac morbidity decreased with atorvastatin up to 44 %, with pravastatin up to 36 %, with fluva- or simvastatin up to 32 % and with lovastatin up to 24 %, approximately. 6. Estimating 5 years of treatment, morbidity of suffering from stroke decreased with atorvastatin up to 41 %, with simvastatin up to 34 % and with pravastatin up to 31 %, approximately. For fluva- and lovastatin there are no comparable data. Within the first 16 weeks of treatment following an acute coronary syndrome relative risk for suffering a non-lethal stroke was reduced with atorvastatin 80 mg/day up to 59 % compared to placebo, the relative risk for stroke up to 50 %. 7. The fastest onset of clinical benefit - reduction of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, hospitalization and necessity of invasive interventions - was demonstrated by treatment with atorvastatin (rapid, within some weeks), followed by lovastatin (after one year), fluva-, prava- and simvastatin (after 11/2 - 2 years). 8. These results were achieved with atorvastatin 10 mg/day (80 mg/day used in MIRACL), lovastatin 20 to 40 mg/day (caused by dosage titration), pravastatin 40 mg/day, simvastatin 20 to 80 mg/day (caused by dosage titration) or fluvastatin 80 mg/day. 9. The advantage of atorvastatin may be due to its ability to reduce cardiovascular disease by stopping the growth of plaques in artery walls. 10. Atorvastatin was the most powerful compound in the group of statins, improving patients' health and expectation of life. - CONCLUSIONS: The authors of the studies agree, that patients at risk for cardiovascular diseases should be treated with a statin irrespective of initial cholesterol concentrations, sex or age. If an acute cardiovascular event has happened, statin treatment should be initiated early to improve the prognosis of these patients at high risk, independent from initial LDL cholesterol values. - Summing-up of these 11 trials, the best results and the greatest benefit for the patients were achieved with atorvastatin, which might be considered to be the gold standard for prophylaxis of cardiac ischemia and stroke.

Anticholesteremic Agents↗

PubMed2004

Candesartan.

Candesartan cilexetil is the prodrug of candesartan, an angiotensin II receptor antagonist. Candesartan binds selectively and non-competitively to the angiotensin II receptor type 1, thus preventing the actions of angiotensin II. Clinical trials have demonstrated its efficacy at a dose range of 2 to 32 mg once daily in hypertension of all grades, heart failure, in reducing urinary albumin excretion in diabetes mellitus and in coexisting hypertension and renal failure. Pharmacokinetic properties of candesartan cilexetil in elderly patients are not significantly different from those in younger individuals. Hepatic impairment does not change pharmacokinetics of candesartan cilexetil at doses up to 12 mg/day. No dose adjustment is necessary in patients with mild or moderate renal impairment. Tolerability of candesartan cilexetil is not much different from that of placebo. All adverse events are usually of mild to moderate severity and not dose-related. The most common adverse events were headache, upper respiratory tract infection, back pain, and dizziness. The incidence of these adverse effects, as well as of cough, was similar in patients treated with candesartan cilexetil or placebo. The incidence of adverse events in long-term trials was not different from that in short-term trials. Tolerability of candesartan cilexetil does not differ with either age or gender.

Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists↗

PubMed2002

Erectile dysfunction: comparison of efficacy and side effects of the PDE-5 inhibitors sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil--review of the literature.

Since introduction of the PDE-5 inhibitor sildenafil 4 years ago, there has been a fundamental change in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). Intracavernosal or intraurethral injections of vasoactive substances or penile implants as mechanical aids now play hardly any part in it. - The development of the PDE-5 inhibitors vardenafil and tadalafil prompts the question of whether and how these three substances differ in terms of their efficacy and adverse effects. - Sildenafil has proven to be a very effective medicinal product. Studies with a follow-up period of up to 6 years have been conducted. The success rate of sildenafil varies in the group of ED patients with an organic underlying disease from 43% in patients who have undergone radical prostatectomy to 85% in patients with a neurological underlying disease, and amounts to an average 82% (range 43-85%, 100mg). - In an evaluation of spontaneous reports of deaths associated with sildenafil, the FDA concluded that there was no deducible evidence of an increase in the mortality rate among sildenafil users compared to the general population. In fact, fewer deaths associated in time with the ingestion of sildenafil were reported than might have been expected purely statistically on the basis of the normal mortality rate for men in this age group. - According to the initial studies conducted, vardenafil and tadalafil demonstrate efficacy data approximately comparable to those of sildenafil. As yet, insufficient data are available to evaluate the adverse effects of vardenafil and tadalafil, particularly their long-term use and use in high-risk groups. - Sildenafil has already been used by over 20 million men in over 110 countries and is one of the best-studied pharmacological substances available. This adventage in terms of knowledge and safety data makes sildenafil a safe and reliable treatment for patients with erectile dysfunction.

3',5'-Cyclic-GMP Phosphodiesterases↗