Daily statin reduces risk of cardiovascular disease in people living with HIV, UC study finds
Results could produce a change in practice guidelines
An international multicenter study that was conducted at the University of Cincinnati was stopped early after research demonstrated that a daily statin medication reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease among people living with HIV.
A planned interim analysis of data from the Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV (REPRIEVE) study found that participants who took pitavastatin calcium lowered their risk of major adverse cardiovascular events by 35% compared with those receiving a placebo.
REPRIEVE is the first large-scale clinical study to test a primary cardiovascular prevention strategy for people living with HIV.
Adverse drug events observed in the study were comparable to those in the general population taking statin therapy. The interim analysis was sufficiently compelling that the study’s independent Data Safety and Monitoring Board (DSMB) recommended it be stopped early given adequate evidence of efficacy. The National Institutes of Health accepted the DSMB recommendations.
Study participants are being notified of the findings and will continue to be monitored for several months. Study results from the DSMB review are expected to be published in the coming weeks.
REPRIEVE, launched in 2015, enrolled 7,769 volunteers between 40 to 75 years of age, of whom more than 30% were women. All REPRIEVE volunteers took antiretroviral therapy and had low-to-moderate traditional cardiovascular disease risk that would not typically be considered for statin treatment.
The trial was conducted in 12 countries in Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Africa. UC enrolled 112 participants in the main study and 55 participants in the mechanistic substudy. Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, professor of Infectious Diseases at the UC College of Medicine, was the vice-chair of the REPRIEVE protocol serving on the core team that ran the study.
The REPRIEVE study is primarily supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute with additional funding from the NIH Office of AIDS Research. The study was conducted by the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG).
“It is incredibly gratifying to see these results and to know that this study has the potential to change clinical practice and thus have a meaningful impact on the experiences and health of people living with HIV,” said Fichtenbaum.
“This area of research has been a priority of the ACTG for 20 years and I want to congratulate the many individuals within the network and dedicated study participants who have contributed to making REPRIEVE such a success.”
Statins are known to prevent cardiovascular disease among those at high risk in the general population and REPRIEVE sought to understand whether they would have the same effect among people living with HIV who may not traditionally be candidates for statins.
It was not clear if statins would have the same effect in people living with HIV and who have premature cardiovascular disease despite having low-to-moderate traditional risk. In the REPRIEVE trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive a daily dose of 4 mg of pitavastatin or placebo. They were monitored for major adverse cardiovascular events and adverse reactions to pitavastatin, which is considered safe for use with all prescribed antiretroviral therapy regimens.
Featured image at top of an HIV cell: National Institutes of Health
Next Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is classified as a Research 1 institution by the Carnegie Commission and is ranked in the National Science Foundation's Top-35 public research universities. UC's graduate students and faculty investigate problems and innovate solutions with real-world impact. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Local 12: 180 UC med students receive white coats, students embark on journey during pandemic
August 9, 2021
The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine welcomed 180 newly admitted first-year students during the college’s 26th annual White Coat Ceremony. The ceremony was held Friday at 10 a.m. at Cincinnati Music Hall, 1241 Elm Street. Each member of the class of 2025 were presented with a white lab coat, symbolizing entry into the medical profession. Local 12 covered the event.
GIVEHOPE and BSI Engineering Celebrate Ten Years of Driving Research
August 3, 2021
Years after two personal losses from pancreatic cancer, Cincinnati-based nonprofit GIVEHOPE and consulting firm BSI Engineering are celebrating a philanthropic partnership that has funded 13 pilot research projects at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center.
Finding community and building a future
July 9, 2021
As a University of Cincinnati College of Medicine student, Sarah Appeadu, MD, ’21, remembers journaling on the “3 Cs” that got her through medical school: Community, community, community. Now, when she lists the people who supported her through four years of training—the last year in a global pandemic—it keeps growing: her family, her church, her classmates, and the college’s Office of Student Affairs and Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “I look back and it was such a crucial time to really be nurtured in that way,” she says. “I’m so thankful that I had those people. It shows being around the right people really mattered. That’s my same hope for residency even.”
New York Times: Flint Weighs Scope of Harm to Children Caused by Lead in Water
February 1, 2016
Kim Dietrich, a professor of environmental health at UC's College of Medicine, is quoted in this story on the medical problems that could develop among the thousands of young children exposed to lead-contaminated water in Flint, Mich.
Cancer-Causing Gene Found in Plasma May Help Predict Outcomes for Patients
February 18, 2016
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have discovered that a human cancer-causing gene, called DEK, can be detected in the plasma of head and neck cancer patients.
UC Receives $1.9 Million to Study Pain
February 15, 2016
Jun-Ming Zhang, MD, of the UC College of Medicine, is the principal investigator of a $1.95 million grant to study the interacting roles of the sympathetic and sensory nervous and immune systems in back and neuropathic pain models.
MD Magazine: Generic Drug Equally Effective in Epilespy
February 22, 2016
Michael Privitera, MD, a professor of neurology at UC's College of Medicine and director of the Epilepsy Center at the UC Neuroscience Institute, is featured in this story about research he led that examined the efficacy of generic drug substitution for epilepsy.
UC to Host Regional Conference for Latino Medical Student Association
February 10, 2016
The University of Cincinnati chapter of the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) will host a Midwest regional conference Feb. 26-28, 2016, at the College of Medicine.
Heart Disease Still Top Killer of American Women and Men, Symptoms Differ
February 1, 2016
Women tend to get palpitations, shortness of breath and "sharp" chest pain when suffering heart attacks, explains Stephanie Dunlap, DO, in the UC College of Medicine.
Philosophy Professor Explores Fine Lines Between Right and Wrong in March 29 Public Lecture
March 13, 2016
What distinguishes psychopaths from the rest of us? UC Professor Heidi Maibom offers some clues at a 3:30 p.m. lecture, March 29, in the Russell C. Myers Alumni Center.