AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Heart Disease / 18.07.2016
Niacin-Laropiprant Reduced Quality of Life-Adjusted Survival and Increased Hospital Costs in HPS2-THRIVE
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Seamus Kent, MSc, Research Fellow and
Borislava Mihaylova, MSc DPhil, Associate Professor
Health Economics Research Centre,
Nuffield Department of Population Health
University of Oxford, UK
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Niacin lowers the LDL cholesterol and increases the HDL cholesterol and it was hoped this would translate into reduced risks of vascular events. This hypothesis was assessed in the Heart Protection Study 2 – Treatment of HDL to Reduce the Incidence of Vascular Events (HPS2-THRIVE) trial in which over 25,000 adults aged 50 to 80 years with prior cardiovascular disease were randomised to either niacin-laropiprant or placebo, in addition to effective LDL-cholesterol lowering therapy, and followed for about 4 years. Previously published results from the study demonstrated that niacin-laropiprant did not significantly reduce the risk of major vascular events but did significantly increase the risk of various adverse events including infections, bleeding, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, skin, and diabetes-related events.
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