Lipids Health Dis
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Efficacy and safety of alirocumab in patients with hypercholesterolemia not adequately controlled with non-statin lipid-lowering therapy or the lowest strength of statin: ODYSSEY NIPPON study design and rationale.
Statins are generally well-tolerated and serious side effects are infrequent, but some patients experience adverse events and reduce their statin dose or discontinue treatment altogether. Alirocumab is a highly specific, fully human monoclonal antibody to proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), which can produce substantial and sustained reductions of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). ⋯ The ODYSSEY NIPPON study will provide insights into the efficacy and safety of alirocumab 150 mg Q4W or 150 mg Q2W among Japanese patients with hypercholesterolemia who are on the lowest-strength dose of atorvastatin, or are receiving a non-statin LLT (including diet therapy alone).
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Chronic widespread pain conditions (CWP) such as the pain associated with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) are significant health problems with unclear aetiology. Although CWP and FMS can alter both central and peripheral pain mechanisms, there are no validated markers for such alterations. Pro- and anti-inflammatory components of the immune system such as cytokines and endogenous lipid mediators could serve as systemic markers of alterations in chronic pain. Lipid mediators associated with anti-inflammatory qualities - e.g., oleoylethanolamide (OEA), palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), and stearoylethanolamide (SEA) - belong to N-acylethanolamines (NAEs). Previous studies have concluded that these lipid mediators may modulate pain and inflammation via the activation of peroxisome proliferator activating receptors (PPARs) and the activation of PPARs may regulate gene transcriptional factors that control the expression of distinct cytokines. ⋯ We conclude that altered levels of OEA and PEA might indicate the presence of systemic inflammation in CWP. In addition, we believe our findings contribute to the understanding of the biochemical mechanisms involved in chronic musculoskeletal pain.
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Antiretroviral treatment (ART) is associated with dyslipidemia yet little is known about the burden of dyslipidemia in the absence of ART in sub-Saharan Africa. We compared the prevalence and risk factors for dyslipidemia among HIV-infected ART-naïve adults and their uninfected partners in Nairobi, Kenya. ⋯ Among ART-naïve HIV-infected adults, high viral load and low CD4 cell count were independent predictors of dyslipidemia, underscoring the importance of early initiation of ART for viral suppression.