Lipids & Metabolic

The FDA’s Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee voted unanimously Nov. 14 to recommend an expanded indication for icosapent ethyl, a purified omega-3 product designed to help heart patients keep their lipid levels in check.

A study out of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing suggests that weight loss achieved through a combination of intensive behavioral therapy and 3 milligrams of liraglutide daily results in optimal weight-related quality of life for patients struggling with obesity.

A novel risk calculator developed by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic encourages patients with both type 2 diabetes and obesity to weigh their treatment options for optimal long-term health.

Metformin use is linked to a lower risk of hospitalization for heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes, a paper in the Journal of the American Heart Association confirms.

Finalized results from the OSLER-1 trial—the longest-running study of PCSK9 inhibitors to date—suggest evolocumab is safe and “consistently excellent” at lowering LDL-cholesterol through five years.

Weight gain during early training causes cardiovascular problems for collegiate football players.

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca announced Oct. 21 that its drug Farxiga—or dapagliflozin—was approved by the FDA to reduce the risk of hospitalization for heart failure in adults with type 2 diabetes.

A study of more than 100,000 urban commuters in China suggests that walking or cycling to work can lower people’s risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke, even when factoring in the “rather serious air pollution” in the country.

A combo of cryoballoon ablation and novel oral anticoagulants might be a more effective treatment route than standard care for obese AFib patients, who, according to an Oct. 4 study, are less likely to benefit from traditional catheter ablation in the long-term.

Recent pushback against a nutritional guideline that supports the consumption of red and processed meats includes allegations that the guideline’s lead author had ties to the meat industry, Health Exec reports.

Evidence published in BMJ Heart last month supports the idea of an “obesity paradox” in heart failure, further complicating a long-running debate as to whether extra weight can be cardioprotective in patients with established CVD.

Low birth weight is associated with poorer health outcomes—including CVD—later in life, according to a study out of West Virginia University.