ORLANDO, Fla.--Despite promising data in its Phase 2 trial, the thrombin receptor antagonist vorapaxar added to standard therapy failed to significantly improve outcomes for patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and increased the risk of major bleeding, including intracranial hemorrhage. The results of the TRA-CER trial, which had been halted Jan. 8 on recommendation of the trials data safety and monitoring board, were unveiled Nov. 13 at the 2011 American Heart Associations conference.

ORLANDO, Fla.Holger Thiele, MD, principal investigator of the AIDA STEMI trial, explained the results of the negative findings with the trial, when assessing how intracoronary abciximab (ReoPro, Eli Lilly) compared with IV bolus abciximab in STEMI patients treated with primary PCI.

ORLANDO, Fla.--Results from a large randomized clinical trial released Nov. 13 at the American Heart Associations 2011 scientific conference showed abciximab plus unfractionated heparin, as compared with bivalirudin, increased the risk of bleeding in nonSTEMI patients undergoing PCI, findings that may put the issue of what anti-thrombotic therapy to use in the cath lab to rest. The results were simultaneously published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

SAN FRANCISCOPatients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures fared better compared with those undergoing surgical aortic valve replacements (SAVR), according to data from the PARTNER Cohort A trial presented Nov. 10 at the 23rd annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference. However, patients reported a lack of benefit, suggesting worse quality of life among patients ineligible for the transfemoral approach. The findings led researchers to conclude that the transapical approach many not be superior to SAVR.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly have decided to terminate their alliance for exenatide (Byetta) and resolve the outstanding litigation between the companies. As part of the agreement, the companies will transition full responsibility for the global development and commercialization of exenatide to Amylin, starting in the U.S. on Nov. 30, and progressing to all markets by the end of 2013.

What does the future hold for clinical engineers? That was the guiding theme of the panel discussion that closed out the Northeastern Healthcare Technology Symposium in Groton, Conn., Nov. 3 and 4. The event was sponsored by the New England Society of Clinical Engineering (NESCE).

Administering a pharmaco-invasive PCI strategy using half-dose fibrinolysis to STEMI patients in rural areas may help close the gap in outcomes between rural and urban dwellers who live in closer proximity to a primary PCI hospital, according to a study published Oct. 31 in the European Heart Journal.

An analysis of health plan records of more than one million children and young adults found no association between current use of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs and an increased risk of serious cardiovascular events, based on study results published Nov. 1 online in the New England Journal of Medicine.