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Crestor Shows Regression of Coronary Artery Disease in a Major Clinical Study |
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13 Mar 2006 |
The first time a statin demonstrates regression of atherosclerosis in a major clinical study.
LONDON, UK | Mar 13, 2006 |The landmark ASTEROID study has demonstrated that two years’ treatment with CRESTORTM (rosuvastatin), 40mg once a day, reversed plaque build-up in the arteries of patients with evidence of coronary artery disease. This is the first time a statin has demonstrated regression of atherosclerosis in a major clinical study. The results of ASTEROID will be presented by Dr Steve Nissen (Chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic) at the 55th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in Atlanta at 2:20pm EST today. Further details of the ASTEROID results will be made available following Dr Nissen’s presentation at the ACC.
Atherosclerosis results when a build-up of cholesterol, inflammatory cells and fibrous tissue forms areas in the artery wall called plaques. If these plaques rupture they can block blood flow to critical organs like the heart or the brain, and can lead to heart attack or stroke.
ASTEROID (A Study To Evaluate the Effect of Rosuvastatin On Intravascular Ultrasound-Derived Coronary Atheroma Burden) was a 104-week, open label, single-arm, blinded endpoint study designed to study the effect of CRESTOR 40mg in 507 patients who had undergone coronary angiography and who had evidence of coronary artery disease (CAD). The plaque volume in the target coronary artery was measured at the initial catheterisation and again after two years of treatment. ASTEROID used intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging to measure the effect on the change in plaque volume compared to baseline in the target vessel.
CRESTOR is indicated for the treatment of lipid disorders. CRESTOR is not indicated for atherosclerosis. The 40mg dose is the highest registered dose of CRESTOR. CRESTOR should be used according to the prescribing information, which contains recommendations for initiating and titrating therapy according to the individual patient profile. In most countries the usual recommended starting dose of CRESTOR is 5 or 10mg.
With over 40 million prescriptions written, CRESTOR has been prescribed to more than six million patients and has a safety profile in line with that of other marketed statins.
Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) is an invasive method of imaging arteries using high frequency sound waves that are transmitted and received inside the vessel being examined. It enables measurement of the volume of atheroma within the wall of the arteries by combining a series of cross-sectional images of the vessel over a predefined length. IVUS is acknowledged as being among the most rigorously quantitative methodologies for assessing atheroma burden.
ASTEROID is part of AstraZeneca’s GALAXY Programme, designed to address important unanswered questions in statin research and to investigate the impact of CRESTOR on cardiovascular risk reduction and patient outcomes. The GALAXY Program has recruited over 50,000 subjects in more than 50 countries.
SOURCE: AstraZeneca |
