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Cyclosporine Does Not Improve Outcomes After PCI

STUDY NAME: The CIRCUS trial - SESSION NAME: Hot Line I - Acute myocardial infarction

The immunosuppressant drug cyclosporine did not improve clinical outcomes compared to placebo in patients receiving percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for the more severe form of heart attack known as ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Cardiovascular Surgery
Interventional Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery
Coronary Artery Disease, Acute Coronary Syndromes, Acute Cardiac Care


STUDY NAME: The CIRCUS trial

SESSION NAME: Hot Line I 

Press release relating to an ESC press conference

This press release accompanies both a presentation and an ESC press conference at ESC Congress 2015. The press release has been written by the investigator and edited by the ESC and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Society of Cardiology.

EMBARGO 30 August 2015 at 08:00 BST   

LONDON, UK – 30 August, 2015: The immunosuppressant drug cyclosporine did not improve clinical outcomes compared to placebo in patients receiving percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for the more severe form of heart attack known as ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Results of the CIRCUS trial, presented today in a Hot Line session at ESC Congress 2015, and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine. showed that the drug, administered prior to PCI, had no impact on a composite of all-cause death, hospitalisation for - or worsening of - heart failure, or adverse left ventricular remodelling at one year. “We were very surprised and disappointed,” said lead investigator Michel Ovize, MD, PhD, from Claude Bernard University, in Lyon, France.

“There is substantial experimental evidence that cyclosporine can reduce infarct size and improve cardiac function, and we previously published a small-size phase II trial suggesting that cyclosporine may reduce infarct size in STEMI patients (N Engl J Med. 2008 Jul 31;359(5):473-81). Obviously, the larger phase III CIRCUS study did not confirm this, and the reason for this discrepancy in unclear.”

The study included patients with anterior STEMI undergoing PCI within 12 hours of symptom onset and with complete occlusion of the culprit coronary artery. Patients were randomly assigned to receive a 2.5 mg/kg intravenous bolus injection of cyclosporine (n=395) or matching placebo (n=396) before coronary recanalization. The rate of the primary outcome was 59.0% in the cyclosporine group versus 58.1% in the control group (odds ratio 1.04; P=0.77), and cyclosporine also did not reduce the incidence of separate clinical components of the primary outcome or other events including recurrent infarction, unstable angina or stroke.

“The real-life setting of anterior STEMI is quite different from animal models and, in addition, treatment of patients has changed in several ways since our previous study,” said Professor Ovize. “Targeting reperfusion injury to reduce infarct size remains a major challenge for PCI cardiologists in charge of STEMI patients whose cardiovascular risk remains much too high.”

ENDS

 

 

Notes to editor

SOURCES OF FUNDING: Funded by the French Ministry of Health and Neurovive Pharmaceutical AB.

DISCLOSURES: Professor Ovize is a consultant for Neurovive Pharmaceutical AB.

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About the European Society of Cardiology
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) represents more than 90 000 cardiology professionals across Europe and worldwide. Its mission is to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in Europe.
 
About ESC Congress 2015
ESC Congress is the world’s largest and most influential cardiovascular event contributing to global awareness of the latest clinical trials and breakthrough discoveries. ESC Congress 2015 takes place 29 August to 2 September at ExCel London in London, UK. Access the scientific programme. More information is available from the ESC Press Office at press@escardio.org.

To access all the scientific resources from the sessions during the congress, visit ESC Congress 365.  

This press release accompanies both a presentation and an ESC press conference at the ESC Congress 2015. Edited by the ESC from material supplied by the investigators themselves, this press release does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Society of Cardiology. The content of the press release has been approved by the presenter.