Project description:Three long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs) are now available in Europe, providing clinicians and patients with a choice of interventions, which is important in COPD, which is clinically a heterogeneous disease. The first LAMA, tiotropium, has been widely used over the last decade as a once-daily maintenance therapy in stable COPD to improve patients' health-related quality of life and to reduce the risk of exacerbations. Administered via the HandiHaler(®) device, it is safe and well tolerated. Another new once-daily LAMA, glycopyrronium, has also been shown to improve health status and reduce exacerbations, and is well tolerated. The subject of this review is a third LAMA, aclidinium bromide, which was approved as a twice-daily maintenance bronchodilator treatment. In the pivotal Phase III clinical trials, patients receiving aclidinium achieved significantly greater improvements in lung function, reductions in breathlessness, and improvements in health status compared with placebo, for up to 24 weeks. In continuation studies, these improvements were sustained for up to 52 weeks. Pooled data showed exacerbation frequency was significantly reduced with aclidinium versus placebo. Preclinical and pharmacological studies demonstrating low systemic bioavailability and a low propensity to induce cardiac arrhythmias were translated into a favorable tolerability profile in the clinical trial program - the adverse event profile of aclidinium was similar to placebo, with a low incidence of anticholinergic and cardiac adverse events. While additional studies are needed to evaluate its full clinical potential, aclidinium is an important part of this recent expansion of LAMA therapeutic options, providing clinicians and patients with an effective and well-tolerated COPD treatment.
Project description:ImportanceThere is concern that long-acting muscarinic antagonists increase cardiovascular morbidity or mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).ObjectiveTo determine the cardiovascular safety (noninferiority) and efficacy (superiority) of aclidinium bromide, 400 μg twice daily, in patients with COPD and cardiovascular disease or risk factors.Design, setting, and participantsMulticenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-design study conducted at 522 sites in North America. A total of 3630 patients with moderate to very severe COPD and either a history of cardiovascular disease or at least 2 atherothrombotic risk factors were randomized; follow-up occurred for up to 3 years until at least 122 major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) occurred. The first patient was enrolled on October 16, 2013 and the last on August 22, 2016. The final patient completed follow-up on September 21, 2017.InterventionsPatients were randomized to receive aclidinium (n = 1812) or placebo (n = 1818) by dry-powder inhaler, twice daily for up to 3 years.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary safety end point was time to first MACE over up to 3 years (hazard ratio [HR] 1-sided 97.5% CI noninferiority margin = 1.8). The primary efficacy end point was the annual COPD exacerbation rate during the first year of treatment. Secondary outcomes included an expanded MACE definition (time to first MACE or serious cardiovascular event of interest) and annual rate of exacerbations requiring hospitalization.ResultsAmong 3589 patients analyzed (mean age, 67.2 years; 58.7% male), 2537 (70.7%) completed the study. Of these, 69 (3.9%) aclidinium and 76 (4.2%) placebo patients had a MACE (HR, 0.89; 1-sided 97.5% CI, 0-1.23); the expanded MACE definition included 168 (9.4%) aclidinium vs 160 (8.9%) placebo patients with events (HR, 1.03; 1-sided 97.5% CI, 0-1.28). Annual moderate to severe exacerbation rates (aclidinium, 0.44; placebo, 0.57; rate ratio, 0.78; 2-sided 95% CI, 0.68-0.89; P < .001) and rate of exacerbations requiring hospitalization (aclidinium, 0.07; placebo, 0.10; rate ratio, 0.65; 2-sided 95% CI, 0.48-0.89; P = .006) decreased significantly with aclidinium vs placebo. The most common adverse events were pneumonia (aclidinium, 109 events [6.1%]; placebo, 105 events [5.8%]), urinary tract infection (aclidinium, 93 events [5.2%]; placebo, 89 events [5.0%]), and upper respiratory tract infection (aclidinium, 86 events [4.8%]; placebo, 101 events [5.6%]).Conclusions and relevanceAmong patients with COPD and increased cardiovascular risk, aclidinium was noninferior to placebo for risk of MACE over 3 years. The rate of moderate to severe COPD exacerbations was reduced over the first year.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01966107.
Project description:BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a condition associated with high morbidity, mortality and cost to the community. Patients often report symptomatic improvement with short-acting beta-2 agonists (SABA) and anticholinergic bronchodilator medications, and both are recommended in COPD guidelines. These medications have different mechanisms of action and therefore could have an additive effect when combined.ObjectivesTo compare the relative efficacy and safety of regular long term use (at least four weeks) of ipratropium bromide and short- acting beta-2 agonist therapy in patients with stable COPD.Search strategyThe Cochrane Airways Group Specialised Register of Trials was searched. Bibliographies were checked to identify relevant cross-references. Drug companies were contacted for relevant trial data. The searches are current to August 2005.Selection criteriaAll randomised controlled trials comparing at least 4 weeks of treatment with an anticholinergic agent (ipratropium bromide) alone or in combination with a beta-2 agonist (short acting) versus the beta-2 agonist alone, delivered via metered dose inhaler or nebuliser, in non-asthmatic adult subjects with stable COPD.Data collection and analysisData extraction and study quality assessment was performed independently by three reviewers. Authors of studies and relevant manufacturers were contacted if data were missing.Main resultsEleven studies (3912 participants) met the inclusion criteria of the review. Small benefits of ipratropium over a short-acting beta-2 agonist were demonstrated on lung function outcomes. There were small benefits in favour of ipratropium on quality of life (HRQL), as well as a reduction in the requirement for oral steroids. Combination therapy with ipratropium plus a short-acting beta-2 agonist conferred benefits over a short-acting beta-2 agonist alone in terms of post-bronchodilator lung function. There was no significant benefit of combination therapy in subjective improvements in HRQL, but again there was a reduction in the requirement for oral steroids.Authors' conclusionsThe available data from the trials included in this review suggest that the advantage of regular long term use of ipratropium alone or in combination with a short-acting beta-2 agonist or over a beta-2 agonist alone are small, if the aim is to improve lung function, symptoms and exercise tolerance. Until further data are available, the strategy of providing a short-acting beta-2 agonist on a PRN basis, and then either continuing with the short-acting beta-2 agonist regularly or conducting an "n of 1" trial of regular beta-2 agonist or regular anticholinergic to determine the treatment that gives the best relief of symptoms (and continuing with it), would seem cost effective. This strategy does need formal evaluation. Patient preference is also important, as is the relative importance of avoiding the use of systemic corticosteroids.
Project description:Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an inflammatory lung disease with complex pathological features and largely unknown etiologies. Identification and validation of biomarkers for this disease could facilitate earlier diagnosis, appreciation of disease subtypes and/or determination of response to therapeutic intervention. To identify gene expression markers for COPD, we performed genome-wide expression profiling of lung tissue from 56 subjects using the Affymetrix U133 Plus 2.0 array. Lung function measurements from these subjects ranged from normal, un-obstructed to severely obstructed. Analysis of differential expression between cases (FEV1<70%, FEV1/FVC<0.7) and controls (FEV1>80%, FEV1/FVC>0.7) identified a set of 65 probe sets representing discrete markers associated with COPD. Correlation of gene expression with quantitative measures of airflow obstruction (FEV1 or FEV1/FVC) identified a set of 220 probe sets. A total of 31 probe sets were identified that showed evidence of significant correlation with quantitative traits and differential expression between cases and controls. Keywords: Disease state marker