"We are hoping that by inhibiting inflammation, we can make heart surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass safer."
One of the key participants in the inflammatory response is a family of proteins known as complement, which become activated in a cascade that results in an enzyme reaction and the release of the C5 portion of the protein.
One particularly harmful portion of the complement protein is C5a, which causes activation of white blood cells, vasoconstriction and ultimately, cell death. Pexelizumab binds to the C5 complement protein, inhibiting its cleavage that results in C5a and other complement fractions. A smaller previous study, PRIMOCABG I, showed that in moderate-risk patients, pexelizumab significantly reduced the risk of heart attack, but did not significantly reduce mortality.
In the PRIMOCABG II trial, Dr. Smith and colleagues from North America and Europe randomly assigned treatment with pexelizumab or placebo to more than 4,000 CABG patients with at least two risk factors, including diabetes, previous CABG, a recent heart attack, an urgent need for CABG surgery, and female gender. In this high-risk group, investigators evaluated the influence of pexelizumab treatment on the combined risk of death or heart attack within 30 days of surgery, as well as on the risk of heart failure during hospitalization and within 30 days, and on the risk of death within 90 days.
Dr. Smith will present the PRIMOCABG II trial at a Late Breaking Clinical Trial session on Monday, March 13, at 3 p.m. ET.
A Controlled Randomized Trial of Circumferential Pulmonary Vein Ablation versus Antiarrhythmic Drug Therapy for Curing Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: The Ablation for Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation (APAF) Trial
A catheter procedure that uses radiofrequency energy to burn a blockade of scar tissue around
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13-Mar-2006