Retargeting the management of hypercholesterolemia - focus on evolocumab
- PMID: 27660454
- PMCID: PMC5019477
- DOI: 10.2147/TCRM.S116679
Retargeting the management of hypercholesterolemia - focus on evolocumab
Abstract
Hypercholesterolemia is one of the main risk factors for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. The treatment is based on the modification of the diet and lifestyle and if necessary on a pharmacological therapy. The most widely used drugs are the inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase (statins); nevertheless, many patients do not reach optimal levels of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) even with maximal dosage of statins (eventually associated to ezetimibe) or present side effects, which do not allow them to continue the treatment. Inhibitors of PCSK9 represent a new therapeutic approach for lowering LDL-C. Evolocumab and alirocumab are human monoclonal antibodies, which bind to extracellular PCSK9 and thus interfere with the degradation of low-density lipoprotein receptor. Evolocumab use is approved for the treatment of patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and homozygous FH as an adjunct to diet and maximally tolerated statin therapy or for subjects with clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease who require additional lowering of LDL-C. Phase III clinical trials have demonstrated the effectiveness of evolocumab (140 mg/every 2 weeks or 420 mg/month, via subcutaneous injection) in monotherapy and in combination with statins, in the treatment of patients intolerant to statins or with FH. In monotherapy, it reduces LDL-C by 55%, and its association with statins leads to a reduction of LDL-C by up to 63%-75%. Evolocumab has been demonstrated to be safe and well tolerated. Ongoing clinical trials are assessing the long-term effects of evolocumab on the incidence of cardiovascular risk, safety, and tolerability. This review resumes the available clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of evolocumab, for which a relatively large amount of clinical data are currently available, and discusses the retargeting of cholesterol-lowering therapy in clinical practice.
Keywords: LDL-C; PCSK9; evolocumab; familial hypercholesterolemia; hyperlipidemia.
Similar articles
-
Management of Hypercholesterolemia, Appropriateness of Therapeutic Approaches and New Drugs in Patients with High Cardiovascular Risk.High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev. 2016 Sep;23(3):217-30. doi: 10.1007/s40292-016-0155-2. Epub 2016 Aug 27. High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev. 2016. PMID: 27567901 Free PMC article. Review.
-
[Evolocumab (Repatha®) : a human monoclonal antibody against PCSK9 protein as potent cholesterol-lowering therapy].Rev Med Liege. 2017 Nov;72(11):505-512. Rev Med Liege. 2017. PMID: 29171950 Review. French.
-
[Severe hypercholesterolaemia--when to use the proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 protease inhibitors (PCSK9 inhibitors)? Polish Society of Cardiology experts' group statement].Kardiol Pol. 2016;74(4):394-8. doi: 10.5603/KP.2016.0051. Kardiol Pol. 2016. PMID: 27098076 Polish.
-
Evolocumab: Considerations for the Management of Hyperlipidemia.Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2018 Mar 6;20(4):17. doi: 10.1007/s11883-018-0720-3. Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2018. PMID: 29511875 Review.
-
Evolocumab: A Review in Hyperlipidemia.Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2016 Feb;16(1):67-78. doi: 10.1007/s40256-015-0153-0. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2016. PMID: 26643308 Review.
Cited by
-
Asia-Pacific Real-World Evolocumab Use, LDL-C Reduction, Physician Goals, and Patient Perceptions: HALES Observational Study.Cardiol Ther. 2024 Dec;13(4):737-760. doi: 10.1007/s40119-024-00384-3. Epub 2024 Oct 25. Cardiol Ther. 2024. PMID: 39455535 Free PMC article.
-
Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin-Kexin Type 9 (PCSK9) Inhibitors and Cardiovascular Risk: Does a Further Analysis of the Fourier Trial Suggest Changes in the Target of Lipid Lowering Therapy?High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev. 2018 Mar;25(1):5-7. doi: 10.1007/s40292-017-0244-x. Epub 2018 Jan 5. High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev. 2018. PMID: 29305812 No abstract available.
References
-
- Ray KK, Kastelein JJ, Boekholdt SM, et al. The ACC/AHA 2013 guideline on the treatment of blood cholesterol to reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk in adults: the good the bad and the uncertain: a comparison with ESC/EAS guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias 2011. Eur Heart J. 2014;35(15):960–968. - PubMed
-
- Piepoli MF, Hoes AW, Agewall S, et al. 2016 European guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice: the Sixth Joint Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and Other Societies on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Clinical Practice (constituted by representatives of 10 societies and by invited experts): developed with the special contribution of the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation (EACPR) Eur Heart J. 2016;37(29):2315–2381. - PMC - PubMed
-
- Cicero AF, Colletti A. Combinations of phytomedicines with different lipid lowering activity for dyslipidemia management: the available clinical data. Phytomedicine. 2016;23(11):1113–1118. - PubMed
Publication types
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Miscellaneous