Factors influencing efficacy of nitrate therapy for stable angina pectoris: a multiple linear regression analysis

Association between diabetes mellitus and angina after acute myocardial infarction: analysis of the TRIUMPH prospective cohort study

AIMS

While patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have more extensive coronary disease and worse survival after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) than patients without DM, data on whether they experience more angina are conflicting.

METHODS

We examined angina prevalence over the year following AMI among 3367 patients, including 1080 (32%) with DM, from 24 US hospitals enrolled in the TRIUMPH registry from 2005 to 2008.

RESULTS

Patients with vs. without DM were more likely to be treated with antianginal medications both at discharge and over follow up. Despite more aggressive angina therapy, patients with vs. without DM had higher prevalence and severity of angina prior to AMI (49 vs. 43%, p = 0.001) and at each follow-up assessment, although rates of angina declined in both groups over time. In a hierarchical, multivariable, repeated-measures model that adjusted for multiple demographic and clinical factors including severity of coronary disease and in-hospital revascularization, DM was associated with a greater odds of angina over the 12 months of follow up; this association increased in magnitude over time (12-month OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.01-1.37; DM*time pinteraction = 0.008).

CONCLUSIONS

Contrary to conventional wisdom, angina is more prevalent and more severe among patients with DM, both prior to and following AMI. This effect is amplified over time and independent of patient and treatment factors, including the presence of multivessel disease and coronary revascularization. This increased burden of angina may be due to more diffuse nature of coronary disease, more rapid progression of coronary disease over time, or greater myocardial demand among DM patients.

Chronic nitrate therapy in patients with angina with comorbidity

In a retrospective study from the Dutch Mononitrate Quality of Life (DUMQOL) Study Group, the authors found that patients with angina with concomitant diabetes or hypercholesterolemia derived more benefit from changing over to a once-daily nitrate treatment regimen than did patients without angina. The aim of this study was to assess this issue prospectively. In an open-label study, patients with stable angina pectoris from facilities in Germany, Portugal, and me Czech Republic were treated for 3 months with multiple daily doses and subsequently for 3 more months with once-daily isosorbide mononitrate/dinitrate. After the first and second 3-month periods, they were assessed by a validated QOL battery including domains for mobility, side effects, life satisfaction, anginal pain, and psychological distress. In the 1045 patients who participated in the study, the mean summary domain scores varied from 5 to 16 points and score improvements from 1.6 to 4.3 points. In the patients without concomitant hypertension and smokers, domain scores improved less than they did in the patients without, with differences in domain score improvements up to 1.0 points (P<0.001), which is substantial considering the range of improvement was between 1.6 and 4.3 points. In the patients with diabetes mellitus or hypercholesterolemia, a reverse pattern was observed with differences in domain score improvements up to 0.4 points (P<0.05). Patients with angina with diabetes or hypercholesterolemia derived more benefit from an asymmetric regimen of isosorbide mononitrate/dinitrate than did patients without. Patients with angina with hypertension and smokers benefited less. Differences in endothelial function may be involved.

Tolerability to 1-year treatment with once-daily molsidomine in patients with stable angina

Prolonged-release molsidomine 16 mg once daily) QD (has proved effective in the short-term treatment of patients with stable angina. The purpose of this multicenter study was to assess its long-term tolerability and clinical effectiveness. A total of 320 patients with stable angina were treated for 1 year with molsidomine 16 mg QD administered open label as monotherapy or add-on therapy, when beta blockers and/or calcium antagonists were prescribed concomitantly) in 128 patients, ie, 40% of cases), depending on the severity of disease and/or local therapeutic policies. In all, 293 patients (91.6%) completed the study. The proportion of patients who reported drug-related adverse events (AEs) was 9.1%, which is not significantly different (P=.13) from the 5.9% observed during previous short-term (2-4 wk) treatment. Headache accounted for 80.6% of all drug-related AEs and required discontinuation of the drug in one quarter of patients who reported the symptom (ie, 1.9% of the 320 patients involved in the study). No serious drug-related AEs occurred during the study. Tolerability to molsidomine, evaluated with use of a visual analog scale (VAS), improved by 20% from beginning to end of 1-year follow-up. Two-by-two Bonferroni's comparisons were significant at the .05 level between the 2-month assessment and assessments performed at 8, 10, and 12 months. No age-time interaction was noted (P=.82). Heart rate, blood pressure, electrocardiogram, and blood parameters showed no statistically significant or clinically relevant changes during the study. Compliance with treatment was satisfactory throughout the follow-up period. There was no significant change in the weekly frequency of anginal attacks and consumption of short-acting nitroderivatives during the 1-year study (P=.07 and P=.12,respectively), but their frequency was significantly (ie, approximately 50%) lower than during a preceding short-term treatment period (P<.0001 and P=.014, respectively). Subjective clinical status, evaluated through an appropriate VAS, improved by 38% from start to end of 1-year follow-up. Bonferroni's comparisons between baseline and subsequent 2-month evaluations were all significant at the .05 level. No age-time interaction could be seen for frequency of anginal attacks and consumption of short-acting nitroderivatives, nor for clinical status )P=.10, P=.11, and P=.51, respectively). Neither tolerability to molsidomine nor effectiveness of the drug was biased by concomitant antianginal therapies, insofar as none of these parameters showed a significant treatment type (ie, molsidomine administered as monotherapy or add-on therapy)-time interaction (VAS for tolerability: P=.44; angina: P=.39; nitroderivatives: P=.72; VAS for clinical status: P=.62). Molsidomine 16 mg QD administered for 1 y to patients with stable angina was well tolerated and remained effective during the entire treatment period, independent of age and concomitant antianginal therapy.

Efficacy and safety of once- and twice-daily formulations of molsidomine in patients with stable angina pectoris: double-blind and open-label studies

Molsidomine, a sydnonimine acting as a heterocyclic direct nitric oxide donor, has been used for many years in several European countries for the treatment of patients with stable angina pectoris. The efficacy and tolerability of a novel once-daily 16-mg formulation of molsidomine (M16) were compared with those of the currently used twice-daily 8-mg molsidomine tablet (M8) in 666 patients. Study 1, a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, twin crossover study, involved 533 patients given acute and 2-week treatment with each drug formulation. Study 2, a multicenter, open-label, sequential, add-on trial, compared M16 and M8 in 133 patients. Drug effects on exercise capacity (study 1 only), frequency of anginal attacks and consumption of short-acting itroderivatives, and incidence of adverse events (AEs) were evaluated. Compared with placebo, M16 increased exercise capacity by 15% (P<.001) at the start of study 1 and by 13% (P<.001) after 2 weeks' treatment, and was not inferior to M8. In terms of anginal attack frequency and nitroderivative consumption, M16 was not inferior to M8 in either study. Moreover, compared with M8, M16 produced a statistically and clinically significant reduction in the incidence of anginal attacks in elderly (>/=75 y) but not in younger patients (<75 y) (study 2), nor in patients from study 1. No significant difference from M8 was found in either study in short-acting nitroderivative consumption. No tolerance to M8 or M16 was observed after 2-week treatment. No statistically significant differences in incidences of all AEs and drug-related AEs were observed between M16 and M8 in either study. The same held true for proportions of patients experiencing AEs and drug-related AEs on M16 vs M8: in study 1-14.3% and 11.8% for all AEs (P=.218), 6.9% and 5.4% for drug-related AEs (P=.280); in study 2-1.3% and 1.3% for all AEs, 0% and 1.3% for drug-related AEs (P>.10) in young patients; and in the elderly, 3.6% and 0% for drug-related AEs (P>.10). Only the proportion of elderly patients with all AEs was significantly higher with M16 than with M8: 14.5% vs 1.8% (P=.039). M16 once daily was effective and well tolerated in investigated patients with stable angina pectoris, particularly the elderly, affording 24 hours of therapeutic activity. M16 was not inferior to M8 given twice daily in terms of efficacy, safety profile, and tolerability.

Efficacy and safety of molsidomine once-a-day in patients with stable angina pectoris

BACKGROUND

The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of molsidomine prolonged-release 16 mg once-a-day (o.a.d.) with 8 mg twice-a-day (b.i.d.) and placebo in patients with stable angina pectoris.

METHODS

After a run-in placebo period of 7 days, the two formulations were compared acutely and then chronically (2 weeks) using cycloergometric tests and a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, double-dummy, crossover design in 533 patients. The quality of life was assessed using the frequency of anginal crises and nitrate sublingual tablets consumption.

RESULTS

Both formulations significantly improved exercise test parameters compared with placebo, being it after acute drug intake or after a 2-week treatment period and independently of spontaneous diurnal variation in exercise tolerance. Noninferiority of molsidomine 16 mg compared with 8 mg was demonstrated with a statistically significant superiority of the 16-mg formulation from 14 to 24 h postintake. Both treatments reduced incidence of anginal attacks and use of sublingual isosorbide dinitrate tablets. Tolerability of active drugs was satisfactory, the incidence of drug-related headache being not significantly different from placebo. Only hypotension was significantly more frequent with molsidomine 16 mg than with placebo, pretrial diastolic blood pressure being significantly lower in these patients than in those who did not develop hypotension during the study.

CONCLUSIONS

Both molsidomine formulations were effective in controlling patients' angina, did not induce any habituation and were well tolerated. However, the once-daily 16-mg formulation tended to provide better 24-h protection against myocardial ischemia than the 8-mg b.i.d. formulation.