Pathogenesis and early management of non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes

Best Practices in Pharmacotherapy for Acute Coronary Syndromes

Numerous advances have been made in the therapy of acute coronary syndromes. Despite these advances, acute coronary syndromes still cause significant morbidity and mortality. Decisions as to the best therapy vary depending on other patient factors, such as age, need for chronic anticoagulation, tolerability of medications, and the degree of myocardial damage. Recent evidence suggests that a shorter duration of therapy may be beneficial in decreasing bleeding events without compromising benefits of preventing ischemic complications. For those who have an indication for chronic anticoagulation, less intensive therapy may also be beneficial, again without increasing ischemic complications. Data regarding agents that inhibit the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system are available and these data are reviewed. Knowledge of the pharmacology, potency, and pharmacokinetics of drugs, as well as adverse drug events, may direct clinicians in choosing the optimal pharmacotherapy strategy for their patients.

Comparison of the influence of ticagrelor and clopidogrel on inflammatory biomarkers and vascular endothelial function for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction receiving emergency percutaneous coronary intervention: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The Platelet Inhibition and Patient Outcomes (PLATO, Eur J Prev Cardiol 22(6):734-42, 2015) trial shows that, in patients who have an acute coronary syndrome, treatment with ticagrelor as compared with clopidogrel significantly reduced the rate of death, but the reason is still uncertain. Both inflammation and vascular endothelian cell dysfunction play important roles in the pathophysiology of atherosclerotic plaques, but whether ticagrelor has superior anti-inflammatory effect and can improve vascular endothelial cell function to a great extent is unknown.

METHODS/DESIGN

Patients with STEMI who are scheduled to undergo emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) will be randomly assigned to receive a loading dose of ticagrelor 180 mg as the treatment group or clopidogrel 600 mg as the control group. After PCI, the treatment group will be treated with ticagrelor 90 mg twice daily while the control group will be treated with clopidogrel 75 mg once daily. The vascular endothelial function will be tested by circulating endothelial cells, and levels of inflammation will be tested by CD40 ligand (CD40L), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and P-selectin. The estimated enrollment sample size will be 350 patients, including 175 in the treatment group and 175 in the control group.

DISCUSSION

This study will compare the influence of ticagrelor and clopidogrel on inflammatory biomarkers and vascular endothelial function firstly for STEMI patients receiving emergency PCI and will provide evidence to identify whether ticagrelor inhibits inflammation and improves vascular endothelial cell function to a greater extent than clopidogrel or not.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This trial was registered with Clinicaltrials.gov (identifier: NCT02123004) on 20 April 2014.

New antithrombotic agents: are they needed and what can they offer to patients with a non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome?

Antithrombotic therapy is a cornerstone of treatment for non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes, as demonstrated in numerous clinical trials. Long-term oral antiplatelet therapy targeting specific platelet activation pathways has demonstrated significant long-term benefits, whereas antithrombin use is limited to the acute setting. Despite proven efficacy of long-term dual oral antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel, residual morbidity and mortality is considerable. This may be partly due to incomplete inhibition of platelet activation with current agents and/or lack of long-term anticoagulant therapy. Improvements in patient outcomes could be achieved by developing agents that inhibit other platelet activation pathways or by adding new anticoagulants such as oral anti-IIa or anti-Xa agents for a prolonged period of time after the acute event. This review describes the rationale behind and the current status of the trials with new antithrombotic agents.