Prospective Postmarketing Surveillance of Acute Myocardial Infarction in New Users of Saxagliptin: A Population-Based Study

Insights into the Role of Plasmatic and Exosomal microRNAs in Oxidative Stress-Related Metabolic Diseases

A common denominator of metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes Mellitus, dyslipidemia, and atherosclerosis, are elevated oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. These complex, multi-factorial diseases are caused by the detrimental interaction between the individual genetic background and multiple environmental stimuli. The cells, including the endothelial ones, acquire a preactivated phenotype and metabolic memory, exhibiting increased oxidative stress, inflammatory gene expression, endothelial vascular activation, and prothrombotic events, leading to vascular complications. There are different pathways involved in the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases, and increased knowledge suggests a role of the activation of the NF-kB pathway and NLRP3 inflammasome as key mediators of metabolic inflammation. Epigenetic-wide associated studies provide new insight into the role of microRNAs in the phenomenon of metabolic memory and the development consequences of vessel damage. In this review, we will focus on the microRNAs related to the control of anti-oxidative enzymes, as well as microRNAs related to the control of mitochondrial functions and inflammation. The objective is the search for new therapeutic targets to improve the functioning of mitochondria and reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, despite the acquired metabolic memory.

Re-adjudication of the Trial Evaluating Cardiovascular Outcomes with Sitagliptin (TECOS) with study-level meta-analysis of hospitalization for heart failure from cardiovascular outcomes trials with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors

Background

Trial Evaluating Cardiovascular Outcomes with Sitagliptin (TECOS) assessed the cardiovascular (CV) safety of sitagliptin versus placebo on CV outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes and CV disease and found sitagliptin noninferior to placebo. Subsequently, based on feedback from FDA, the Sponsor of the trial, Merck & Co., Inc., engaged a separate academic research organization, the TIMI Study Group, to re‐adjudicate a prespecified set of originally adjudicated events.

Methods

TIMI adjudicated in a blinded fashion all potential hospitalization for heart failure (HHF) events, all potential MACE+ events previously adjudicated as not an endpoint event, and a random subset (~10%) of MACE+ events previously adjudicated as an endpoint event. An updated study‐level meta‐analysis of four randomized, placebo‐controlled, CV outcomes trials with dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP‐4) inhibitors was then performed.

Results

After re‐adjudication of potential HHF events in the intent‐to‐treat population, there were 224 patients with a confirmed event in the sitagliptin arm (1.05/100 person‐years) and 239 patients in the placebo arm (1.13/100 person‐years), corresponding to a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.94 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.78–1.13, p = .49). Concordance between the outcome of the original adjudication and the re‐adjudication for HHF events was 82.7%. The meta‐analysis of CV outcomes trials with DPP‐4 inhibitors with placebo and involving 43 522 patients yielded an HR of 1.07 (95% CI: 0.83–1.39), with moderate heterogeneity (p = .45, I² = 62.07%).

Conclusion

The results of this independent re‐adjudication process and analyses of CV outcomes from TECOS were consistent with the original adjudication results and overall study findings. An updated study‐level meta‐analysis showed no overall significant risk for HHF with DPP‐4 inhibitors, but with statistical heterogeneity.

Surveillance of Antidepressant Safety (SADS): Active Signal Detection of Serious Medical Events Following SSRI and SNRI Initiation Using Big Healthcare Data

Introduction

The current process for generating evidence in pharmacovigilance has several limitations, which often lead to delays in the evaluation of drug-associated risks.

Objectives

In this study, we proposed and tested a near real-time epidemiological surveillance system using sequential, cumulative analyses focusing on the detection and preliminary risk quantification of potential safety signals following initiation of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).

Methods

We emulated an active surveillance system in an historical setting by conducting repeated annual cohort studies using nationwide Danish healthcare data (1996–2016). Outcomes were selected from the European Medicines Agency's Designated Medical Event list, summaries of product characteristics, and the literature. We followed patients for a maximum of 6 months from treatment initiation to the event of interest or censoring. We performed Cox regression analyses adjusted for standard sets of covariates. Potential safety signals were visualized using heat maps and cumulative hazard ratio (HR) plots over time.

Results

In the total study population, 969,667 new users were included and followed for 461,506 person-years. We detected potential safety signals with incidence rates as low as 0.9 per 10,000 person-years. Having eight different exposure drugs and 51 medical events, we identified 31 unique combinations of potential safety signals with a positive association to the event of interest in the exposed group. We proposed that these signals were designated for further evaluation once they appeared in a prospective setting. In total, 21 (67.7%) of these were not present in the current summaries of product characteristics.

Conclusion

The study demonstrated the feasibility of performing epidemiological surveillance using sequential, cumulative analyses. Larger populations are needed to evaluate rare events and infrequently used antidepressants.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40264-021-01110-x.

Acute myocardial infarction: Development and application of an ICD-10-CM-based algorithm to a large U.S. healthcare claims-based database

Background

Healthcare administrative claims data hold value for monitoring drug safety and assessing drug effectiveness. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Biologics Effectiveness and Safety Initiative (BEST) is expanding its analytical capacity by developing claims-based definitions—referred to as algorithms—for populations and outcomes of interest. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was of interest due to its potential association with select biologics and the lack of an externally validated International Classification of Diseases, 10^th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) algorithm.

Objective

Develop and apply an ICD-10-CM-based algorithm in a U.S. administrative claims database to identify and characterize AMI populations.

Methods

A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify validated AMI algorithms. Building on prior published methodology and consistent application of ICD-9-CM codes, an ICD-10-CM algorithm was developed via forward-backward mapping using General Equivalence Mappings and refined with clinical input. An AMI population was then identified in the IBM^® MarketScan^® Research Databases and characterized using descriptive statistics.

Results and discussion

Between 2014–2017, 2.83–3.16 individuals/1,000 enrollees/year received ≥1 AMI diagnosis in any healthcare setting. The 2015 transition to ICD-10-CM did not result in a substantial change in the proportion of patients identified. Average patient age at first AMI diagnosis was 64.9 years, and 61.4% of individuals were male. Unspecified chest pain, hypertension, and coronary atherosclerosis of native coronary vessel/artery were most commonly reported within one day of AMI diagnosis. Electrocardiograms were the most common medical procedure and beta-blockers were the most commonly ordered cardiac medication in the one day before to 14 days following AMI diagnosis. The mean length of inpatient stay was 5.6 days (median 3 days; standard deviation 7.9 days). Findings from this ICD-10-CM-based AMI study were internally consistent with ICD-9-CM-based findings and externally consistent with ICD-9-CM-based studies, suggesting that this algorithm is ready for validation in future studies.

Targeting AGE-RAGE signaling pathway by Saxagliptin prevents myocardial injury in isoproterenol challenged diabetic rats

The role of Saxagliptin in diabetes-associated cardiovascular complications is controversial. This study aimed to investigate whether Saxagliptin could prevent Isoproterenol-induced myocardial changes in diabetic rats and to identify the possible mechanism as well. The high-fat diet/low-dose Streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rats were divided into 3 groups: the control group (0.25% CMC for 28 days), the Isoproterenol group (85 mg/kg Isoproterenol for the last 2 days plus 0.25% CMC for 28 days), and the treatment group (10 mg/kg Saxagliptin for 28 days plus 85 mg/kg Isoproterenol for the last 2 days). Hemodynamic measurements were performed, and samples were examined for RAGE and NF-κB expressions, histopathological and ultrastructural changes, AGEs level, myocardial injury markers, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. Saxagliptin significantly recovered cardiac function (p < .001), reverted myocardial injury and oxidative stress levels back to the control value (p < .05 to p < .001). Saxagliptin alleviates Isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury in diabetic rats by suppressing AGE-RAGE pathway.

Heterogeneous Treatment Effects on Cardiovascular Diseases With Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors Versus Sulfonylureas in Type 2 Diabetes Patients

This study explored heterogeneous treatment effects (HTEs) of the real-world use of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is) vs. sulfonylureas (SUs) on cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. Utilizing Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, 19,853 propensity score-matched pairs of DPP-4i and SU stable users were identified. Classification and regression tree analyses and Cox models were applied to explore HTEs, according to various patient characteristics, on the composite CVDs, three-point major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE), and all-cause mortality. The absolute risk difference (ARD), hazard ratio (HR), and 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated for comparing treatment effects. CVD history, ischemic stroke, or transient ischemic attack (IS/TIA) history, and age at treatment initiation were significant treatment effect modifiers. Patients with prior IS/TIA but without any other prior CVDs benefited most in reduced risks of composite CVDs from using DPP-4i vs. SU (ARD -4.31%, 95% CI -7.48% to -1.14%, HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.69 ~ 0.95), followed by those without prior IS/TIA and CVDs and initiated with DPP-4i at age < 69.3 years (ARD -0.90%, 95% CI -1.47% to -0.32%, HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.77 ~ 0.97). Patients with prior IS/TIA benefited most in reduced risks of three-point MACE from using DPP-4i vs. SU (ARD -4.22%, 95% CV -6.66% to -1.78%, HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.69 ~ 0.93), followed by those without prior IS/TIA and initiated with DPP-4i at age < 69.3 years (ARD -0.68%, 95% CI -1.08% to -0.29%, HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.70 ~ 0.93). Consideration of CVD and IS/TIA histories and age could facilitate individualized diabetes management of using DPP-4i vs. SU. Future studies are warranted given the hypothesis-generating nature in this exploratory research.

The efficacy and safety of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors compared to other oral glucose-lowering medications in the treatment of type 2 diabetes

INTRODUCTION

The dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is), which belong to the class of incretin-based medications, are recommended as second or third-line therapies in guidelines for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. They have a favorable drug tolerability and safety profile compared to other glucose-lowering agents.

OBJECTIVE

This review discusses data concerning the use of DPP-4is and their cardiovascular profile, and gives an updated comparison with the other oral glucose-lowering medications with regards to safety and efficacy. Currently available original studies, abstracts, reviews articles, systematic reviews and meta-analyses were included in the review.

DISCUSSION

DPP4is are moderately efficient in decreasing the HbA1c by an average of 0.5% as monotherapy, and 1.0% in combination therapy with other drugs. They have a good tolerability and safety profile compared to other glucose-lowering drugs. However, there are possible risks pertaining to acute pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

CONCLUSION

Cardiovascular outcome trials thus far have proven the cardiovascular safety for ischemic events in patients treated with sitagliptin, saxagliptin, alogliptin, linagliptin and vildagliptin. Data showing increased rate of hospitalisation in the case of saxagliptin did not seem to be a class effect.

Incidence of statin use in older adults with and without cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus, January 2008- March 2018

Background

Data from randomized controlled trials and observational studies on older adults who take statins for primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease are limited. To determine the incidence of statin use in older adults with and without cardiovascular disease (CVD) and/or diabetes (DM), we conducted a descriptive observational study.

Methods

The cohort consisted of health plan members in the NIH Collaboratory Distributed Research Network aged >75 years who had continuous drug and medical benefits for ≥183 days during the study period, January 1, 2008- March 31, 2018. We defined DM and CVD using diagnosis codes, and identified statins using dispensing data. Statin use was considered incident if a member had no evidence of statin exposure in the claims during the previous 183 days, and the use was considered long-term if statins were supplied for ≥180 days. Incidence rates were reported among members with and without CVD and/or diabetes, and stratified by year, sex, and age group.

Results

Among 757,569 eligible members, 109,306 older adults initiated statins and 54,624 became long-term users. Health plan members with CVD had the highest incidence of statin use (143.9 initiators per 1,000 member-years for CVD & DM; 114.5 initiators per 1,000 member-years for CVD & No DM). Among health plan members without CVD, those with DM had rates of statin use that were over two times higher than members without DM (76.1 versus 34.5 initiators per 1,000 member-years, respectively). Statin initiation remained steady throughout 2008–2016, was slightly higher in males, and declined with increasing age.

Conclusion

Incidence of statin use varied by CVD and DM comorbidity, and was lowest among those without CVD. These results highlight the potential clinical equipoise to conduct large pragmatic clinical trials to generate evidence that could be used to inform future blood cholesterol guidelines.

Saxagliptin protects against hypoxia-induced damage in H9c2 cells

Type II diabetes is recognized as a major risk factor for death due to cardiovascular complications such as coronary heart disease (CHD), but the complex interplay between these two diseases remains poorly understood. Suppression of oxidative stress, apoptosis, and inflammation of endothelial cells is a valuable treatment strategy to prevent or halt the progression of CHD. In the present study, we used real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Western blot analysis, and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to investigate the effects of saxagliptin on hypoxia-inducible factors. Our findings demonstrate that saxagliptin can significantly improve cell viability in H9c2 cells as well as reduce hypoxia-induced oxidative damage and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. Saxagliptin reduced hypoxia-induced NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX 4). We also show that saxagliptin can reduce the expression of matrix metallopeptidase-2 (MMP-2) and matrix metallopeptidase-9 (MMP-9), two important degradative enzymes. Saxagliptin also suppressed hypoxia-induced expression of high mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB1), a key inflammatory cytokine. Finally, we show that saxagliptin can exert atheroprotective effects by reducing the expression of myeloid differential protein-88 (MyD88) and increasing the expression of nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Thus, saxagliptin shows promise as a treatment against diabetes-associated CHD.

Choosing Among Common Data Models for Real-World Data Analyses Fit for Making Decisions About the Effectiveness of Medical Products

Many real-world data analyses use common data models (CDMs) to standardize terminologies for medication use, medical events and procedures, data structures, and interpretations of data to facilitate analyses across data sources. For decision makers, key aspects that influence the choice of a CDM may include (i) adaptability to a specific question; (ii) transparency to reproduce findings, assess validity, and instill confidence in findings; and (iii) ease and speed of use. Organizing CDMs preserve the original information from a data source and have maximum adaptability. Full mapping data models, or preconfigured rules systems, are easy to use, since all raw codes are mapped to medical constructs. Adaptive rule systems grow libraries of reusable measures that can easily adjust to preserve adaptability, expedite analyses, and ensure study-specific transparency.

Cardiovascular safety of linagliptin compared with other oral glucose-lowering agents in patients with type 2 diabetes: A sequential monitoring programme in routine care

AIM

To evaluate the safety of linagliptin versus other glucose-lowering medications in a multi-year monitoring programme using insurance claims data.

METHODS

In two commercial US claims databases, we identified three pairwise 1:1 propensity-score (PS)-matched cohorts of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) aged ≥18 years initiating linagliptin or a comparator (other dipeptidyl peptidase-4 [DPP-4] inhibitors [n = 31 492 pairs], pioglitazone [n = 23 316 pairs], or second-generation sulphonylureas [n = 19 731 pairs]) between May 2011 and December 2015. The primary endpoint was the risk of a composite cardiovascular (CV) outcome (hospitalization for myocardial infarction, stroke, unstable angina, or coronary revascularization). We estimated pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), controlling for >100 baseline characteristics.

RESULTS

Patient characteristics were well balanced after PS-matching. The mean age was 55 years and mean follow-up was 0.8 years. Linagliptin conferred a similar risk of the composite CV outcome compared to other DPP-4 inhibitors (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.79-1.05) and pioglitazone (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.84-1.15), and showed a reduced risk of CV outcomes compared to second-generation sulphonylureas (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.64--0.92). Key findings were signalled at the first interim analysis in June 2013 and solidified during ongoing monitoring until 2015.

CONCLUSION

Analyses from a large monitoring programme in routine care of patients with T2D, showed that linagliptin had similar CV safety compared to other DPP-4 inhibitors and pioglitazone, and a reduced CV risk compared to sulphonylureas.

Extension of Disease Risk Score-Based Confounding Adjustments for Multiple Outcomes of Interest: An Empirical Evaluation

Use of disease risk score (DRS)-based confounding adjustment when estimating treatment effects on multiple outcomes is not well studied. We designed an empirical cohort study to compare dabigatran initiators and warfarin initiators with respect to risks of ischemic stroke and major bleeding in 12 sequential monitoring periods (90 days each), using data from the Truven Marketscan database (Truven Health Analytics, Ann Arbor, Michigan). We implemented 2 approaches to combine DRS for multiple outcomes: 1) 1:1 matching on prognostic propensity scores (PPS), created using DRS for bleeding and stroke as independent variables in a propensity score (PS) model; and 2) simultaneous 1:1 matching on DRS for bleeding and stroke using Mahalanobis distance (M-distance), and compared their performance with that of traditional PS matching. M-distance matching appeared to produce more stable results in the early marketing period than both PPS and traditional PS matching; hazard ratios from unadjusted analysis, traditional PS matching, PPS matching, and M-distance matching after 4 periods were 0.72 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.51, 1.03), 0.61 (95% CI: 0.31, 1.09), 0.55 (95% CI: 0.33, 0.91), and 0.78 (95% CI: 0.45, 1.34), respectively, for stroke and 0.65 (95% CI: 0.53, 0.80), 0.78 (95% CI: 0.60, 1.01), 0.75 (95% CI: 0.59, 0.96), and 0.78 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.95), respectively, for bleeding. In later periods, estimates were similar for traditional PS matching and M-distance matching but suggested potential residual confounding with PPS matching. These results suggest that M-distance matching may be a valid approach for extension of DRS-based confounding adjustments for multiple outcomes of interest.

Assessing the impact of the new ICD-10-CM coding system on pharmacoepidemiologic studies-An application to the known association between angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angioedema

PURPOSE

To replicate the well-established association between angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors versus beta blockers and angioedema in the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) era.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective, inception cohort study in a large insurance database formatted to the Sentinel Common Data Model. We defined study periods spanning the ICD-9-CM era only, ICD-10-CM era only, and ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM era and conducted simple-forward mapping (SFM), simple-backward mapping (SBM), and forward-backward mapping (FBM) referencing the General Equivalence Mappings to translate the outcome (angioedema) and covariates from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM. We performed propensity score (PS)-matched and PS-stratified Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

In the ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM eras spanning April 1 to September 30 of 2015 and 2016, there were 152 017 and 145 232 angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor initiators and 115 073 and 116 652 beta-blocker initiators, respectively. The PS-matched HR was 4.19 (95% CI, 2.82-6.23) in the ICD-9-CM era, 4.37 (2.92-6.52) in the ICD-10-CM era using SFM, and 4.64 (3.05-7.07) in the ICD-10-CM era using SBM and FBM. The PS-matched HRs from the mixed ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM eras ranged from 3.91 (2.69-5.68) to 4.35 (3.33-5.70).

CONCLUSION

The adjusted HRs across different diagnostic coding eras and the use of SFM versus SBM and FBM produced numerically different but clinically similar results. Additional investigations as ICD-10-CM data accumulate are warranted.

The safety of gliptins : updated data in 2018

INTRODUCTION

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is) are generally considered as glucose-lowering agents with a safe profile in type 2 diabetes.

AREAS COVERED

An updated review of recent safety data from randomised controlled trials, observational studies, meta-analyses, pharmacovigilance reports regarding alogliptin, linagliptin, saxagliptin, sitagliptin, and vildagliptin, with a special focus on risks of hypoglycemia, pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, major cardiovascular events, hospitalisation for heart failure and other new safety issues, such as bone fractures and arthralgia. The safety of DPP-4i use in special populations, elderly patients, patients with renal impairment, liver disease or heart failure, will also be discussed.

EXPERT OPINION

The good tolerance/safety profile of DPP-4is has been largely confirmed, including in more fragile populations, with no gastrointestinal adverse effects and a minimal risk of hypoglycemia. DPP-4is appear to be associated with a small increased incidence of acute pancreatitis in placebo-controlled trials, although most observational studies are reassuring. Most recent studies with DPP-4is do not confirm the increased risk of hospitalisation for heart failure reported with saxagliptin in SAVOR-TIMI 53, but further post-marketing surveillance is still recommended. New adverse events have been reported such as arthralgia, yet a causal relationship remains unclear.