OBJECTIVE In observational data, lower levels of lipoprotein(a) have been associated with greater prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Whether pharmacologic lowering of lipoprotein(a) influences incident... Show moreOBJECTIVE In observational data, lower levels of lipoprotein(a) have been associated with greater prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Whether pharmacologic lowering of lipoprotein(a) influences incident type 2 diabetes is unknown. We determined the relationship of lipoprotein(a) concentration with incident type 2 diabetes and effects of treatment with alirocumab, a PCSK9 inhibitor.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial alirocumab was compared with placebo in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Incident diabetes was determined from laboratory, medication, and adverse event data.RESULTSAmong 13,480 patients without diabetes at baseline, 1,324 developed type 2 diabetes over a median 2.7 years. Median baseline lipoprotein(a) was 21.9 mg/dL. With placebo, 10 mg/dL lower baseline lipoprotein(a) was associated with hazard ratio 1.04 (95% CI 1.02-1.06, P < 0.001) for incident type 2 diabetes. Alirocumab reduced lipoprotein(a) by a median 23.2% with greater absolute reductions from higher baseline levels and no overall effect on incident type 2 diabetes (hazard ratio 0.95, 95% CI 0.85-1.05). At low baseline lipoprotein(a) levels, alirocumab tended to reduce incident type 2 diabetes, while at high baseline lipoprotein(a) alirocumab tended to increase incident type 2 diabetes compared with placebo (treatment-baseline lipoprotein(a) interaction P = 0.006). In the alirocumab group, a 10 mg/dL decrease in lipoprotein(a) from baseline was associated with hazard ratio 1.07 (95% CI 1.03-1.12; P = 0.0002) for incident type 2 diabetes.CONCLUSIONS In patients with acute coronary syndrome, baseline lipoprotein(a) concentration associated inversely with incident type 2 diabetes. Alirocumab had neutral overall effect on incident type 2 diabetes. However, treatment-related reductions in lipoprotein(a), more pronounced from high baseline levels, were associated with increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes. Whether these findings pertain to other therapies that reduce lipoprotein(a) is undetermined. Show less
Aims Statins are pivotal to the secondary prevention of major adverse cardiovascular events, but some patients are statin-intolerant. We examined the effects of the proprotein convertase subtilisin... Show moreAims Statins are pivotal to the secondary prevention of major adverse cardiovascular events, but some patients are statin-intolerant. We examined the effects of the proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor alirocumab on the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events according to the intensity of background statin treatment. Methods and results The ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial compared alirocumab with placebo in 18,924 patients with acute coronary syndrome and dyslipidaemia despite intensive or maximum-tolerated statin treatment (including no statin if intolerance was documented). The primary outcome (major adverse cardiovascular events) comprised coronary heart disease death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, ischaemic stroke, or unstable angina. Median follow-up was 2.8 years. Baseline statin treatment was high-intensity (88.8%), low/moderate-intensity (8.7%) or none (2.4%). Median baseline low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was 86, 89 and 139 mg/dL (P < 0.001) in these statin treatment categories, respectively. Alirocumab produced similar relative reductions in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol from baseline across statin treatment subgroups, but the mean absolute reductions differed (52.9, 56.7 and 86.1 mg/dL, respectively;P < 0.001). With placebo, the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events was highest in the no statin subgroup (10.8%, 10.7% and 26.0% respectively). Alirocumab reduced major adverse cardiovascular events in each statin subgroup (hazard ratio 0.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.80-0.96; 0.68, 0.49-0.94; and 0.65, 0.44-0.97, respectively;P-interaction = 0.14) with a gradient of absolute risk reduction: 1.25%, 95% CI 0.34-2.16; 3.16%, 0.38-5.94; 7.97%, 0.42-15.51;P-interaction = 0.106). Conclusions PCSK9 inhibition with alirocumab reduces the relative risk of major adverse cardiovascular events after acute coronary syndrome irrespective of background statin treatment. However, patients on no statin are at high absolute risk for recurrent major adverse cardiovascular events; alirocumab substantially reduces that risk. PCSK9 inhibition may be an important therapeutic strategy for statin-intolerant patients with acute coronary syndrome. Show less
Schwartz, G.G.; Steg, P.G.; Szarek, M.; Bittner, V.A.; Diaz, R.; Goodman, S.G.; ... ; ODYSSEY OUTCOMES Comm Investigator 2020
Background:Patients with acute coronary syndrome are at risk for peripheral artery disease (PAD) events and venous thromboembolism (VTE). PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9)... Show moreBackground:Patients with acute coronary syndrome are at risk for peripheral artery disease (PAD) events and venous thromboembolism (VTE). PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9) inhibitors reduce lipoprotein(a) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. Our objective was to ascertain whether PCSK9 inhibition reduces the risk of PAD events or VTE after acute coronary syndrome, and if such effects are related to levels of lipoprotein(a) or LDL-C.Methods:This was a prespecified analysis of the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES randomized clinical trial (Evaluation of Cardiovascular Outcomes After an Acute Coronary Syndrome), which was conducted in 18 924 patients with recent acute coronary syndrome on intensive or maximum-tolerated statin treatment who were randomized to the PCSK9 inhibitor alirocumab or placebo. In a prespecified analysis, PAD events (critical limb ischemia, limb revascularization, or amputation for ischemia) and VTE (deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) were assessed. LDL-C was corrected (LDL-C-corrected) for cholesterol content in lipoprotein(a).Results:At baseline, median lipoprotein(a) and LDL-C-corrected were 21 and 75 mg/dL, respectively; with alirocumab, median relative reductions were 23.5% and 70.6%, respectively. PAD events and VTE occurred in 246 and 92 patients, respectively. In the placebo group, risk of PAD events was related to baseline quartile of lipoprotein(a) (P-trend=0.0021), and tended to associate with baseline quartile of LDL-C-corrected (P-trend=0.06); VTE tended to associate with baseline quartile of lipoprotein(a) (P-trend=0.06), but not LDL-C-corrected (P-trend=0.85). Alirocumab reduced risk of PAD events (hazard ratio [HR], 0.69 [95% CI, 0.54-0.89]; P=0.004), with nonsignificantly fewer VTE events (HR, 0.67 [95% CI, 0.44-1.01]; P=0.06). Reduction in PAD events with alirocumab was associated with baseline quartile of lipoprotein(a) (P-trend=0.03), but not LDL-C-corrected (P-trend=0.50). With alirocumab, the change from baseline to Month 4 in lipoprotein(a), but not LDL-C-corrected, was associated with the risk of VTE and the composite of VTE and PAD events.Conclusions:In statin-treated patients with recent acute coronary syndrome, risk of PAD events is related to lipoprotein(a) level and is reduced by alirocumab, particularly among those with high lipoprotein(a). Further study is required to confirm whether risk of VTE is related to lipoprotein(a) level and its reduction with alirocumab.Registration:URL: ; Unique identifier: NCT01663402. Show less
