LAUSR

Over the past 18 months, two multi-national clinical trials specifically designed to test the inflammation hypothesis of atherothrombosis have been presented. First, the 10,061 patient Canakinumab Anti-inflammatory Thrombosis Outcomes Study (CANTOS) proved that specific targeting of interleukin-1β can significantly reduce cardiovascular event rates in the absence of lipid or blood pressure lowering. In CANTOS, canakinumab given at doses of either 150 or 300 mg SC once every three months lowered the inflammatory biomarkers interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein (hsCRP) by 35 to 40 percent when compared to placebo, effects that led to a 17 percent reduction in rates of recurrent heart attack, stroke, urgent need for revascularization, or cardiovascular death (P<0.001). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.