Fluvastatin combined with benazepril may contribute to the favorable prognosis of patients with atrial fibrillation

Repurposing non-oncology small-molecule drugs to improve cancer therapy: Current situation and future directions

Drug repurposing or repositioning has been well-known to refer to the therapeutic applications of a drug for another indication other than it was originally approved for. Repurposing non-oncology small-molecule drugs has been increasingly becoming an attractive approach to improve cancer therapy, with potentially lower overall costs and shorter timelines. Several non-oncology drugs approved by FDA have been recently reported to treat different types of human cancers, with the aid of some new emerging technologies, such as omics sequencing and artificial intelligence to overcome the bottleneck of drug repurposing. Therefore, in this review, we focus on summarizing the therapeutic potential of non-oncology drugs, including cardiovascular drugs, microbiological drugs, small-molecule antibiotics, anti-viral drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-neurodegenerative drugs, antipsychotic drugs, antidepressants, and other drugs in human cancers. We also discuss their novel potential targets and relevant signaling pathways of these old non-oncology drugs in cancer therapies. Taken together, these inspiring findings will shed new light on repurposing more non-oncology small-molecule drugs with their intricate molecular mechanisms for future cancer drug discovery.

Association Between HDL Cholesterol and QTc Interval: A Population-Based Epidemiological Study

Previous experimental studies showed that increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) cholesterol shortens cardiac ventricular repolarization and the QT interval corrected for heart rate (QTc). However, little is known about the epidemiological relationship between HDL and QTc. The potential antiarrhythmic effect of HDL cholesterol remains a speculative hypothesis. In this cross-sectional population based study in adults living in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, we aimed to explore the association between HDL cholesterol and the QTc interval in the general population. A total of 1202 subjects were screened. electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings, measurements of lipid parameters and other laboratory tests were performed. QTc was corrected using Bazett’s (QTc_Baz) and Framingham (QTc_Fram) formulas. HDL was categorized according to percentile distributions: <25th (HDL-1; ≤1.39 mmol/L); 25th–<50th (HDL-2; 1.40–1.69 mmol/L); 50th–<75th (HDL-3; 1.69–1.99 mmol/L); and ≥75th (HDL-4; ≥2.0 mmol/L). After exclusion procedures, data of 1085 subjects were analyzed. Compared with the HDL reference group (HDL-1), HDL-2 and HDL-3 were associated with a reduction of QTc_Baz and QTc_Fram duration in crude (HDL-2, QTc_Baz/QTc_Fram: β-11.306/–10.186, SE 4.625/4.016; p = 0.016/0.012; HDL-3, β-12.347/–12.048, SE 4.875/4.233, p = 0.012/<0.001) and adjusted (HDL-2: β-11.697/–10.908, SE 4.333/4.151, p < 0.001/0.010; HDL-3 β-11.786/–11.002, SE 4.719/4.521, p = 0.014/0.016) linear regression models in women. In adjusted logistic regression models higher HDL, were also associated with lower risk of prolonged QTc_Baz/QTc_Fram (HDL-2: OR 0.16/0.17, CI 0.03–0.83/0.47–0.65; HDL-3: OR 0.10/0.14, CI 0.10–0.64/0.03–0.63) in women. Restricted cubic spline analysis confirmed a non linear association (p < 0.001). The present findings indicate an epidemiological association between HDL cholesterol and QTc duration. To draw firm conclusions, further investigations in other populations and with a prospective cohort design are needed.

Outcome reporting from clinical trials of non-valvular atrial fibrillation treated with traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES

To examine variation in outcomes, outcome measurement instruments (OMIs) and measurement times in clinical trials of non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and to identify outcomes for prioritisation in developing a core outcome set (COS) in this field.

DESIGN

This study was a systematic review.

DATA SOURCES

Clinical trials published between January 2015 and March 2019 were obtained from PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wanfang Database, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure and SinoMed.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies were considered. Interventions included traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. The required treatment duration or follow-up time was ≥4 weeks. The required sample size was ≥30 and≥50 in each group in RCTs and observational studies, respectively. We excluded trials that aimed to investigate the outcome of complications of NVAF, to assess the mechanisms or pharmacokinetics, or for which full text could not be acquired.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

The general information and outcomes, OMIs and measurement times were extracted. The methodological and outcome reporting quality were assessed. The results were analysed by descriptive analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 218 articles were included from 25 255 articles. For clinical trials of antiarrhythmic therapy, 69 outcomes from 16 outcome domains were reported, and 28 (31.82%, 28/88) outcomes were reported only once; the most frequently reported outcome was ultrasonic cardiogram. Thirty-one outcomes (44.93%, 31/69) were provided definitions or OMIs; the outcome measurement times ranged from 1 to 20 with a median of 3. For clinical trials of anticoagulation therapy, 82 outcomes from 18 outcome domains were reported; 38 (29.23%, 38/130) outcomes were reported only once. The most frequently reported outcome was ischaemic stroke. Forty (48.78%, 40/82) outcomes were provided OMIs or definitions; and the outcome measurement times ranged from 1 to 27 with a median of 8.

CONCLUSION

Outcome reporting in NVAF is inconsistent. Thus, developing a COS that can be used in clinical trials is necessary.