In a randomized clinical study, a subset of patients with COPD with emphysema seemed to benefit from treatment with an angiotensin receptor blocker, which supports preclinical evidence of efficacy.
According to MedPage Today, patients with COPD treated with Iosartan had no improvement compared with placebo-treated patients, although the subset of patients with emphysema at baseline had stabilization of the condition at 6 months. Patients in the placebo group showed a 3% rate of progression.
In addition, anatomic analysis revealed a significant difference for the left upper lobe in favor of losartan. The MedPage Today news report notes that at 12 months, the overall trend toward stability persisted in the patients who had emphysema at baseline but was no longer significant. The anatomical analysis showed a consistent pattern of stability with losartan versus progression with placebo, achieving statistical significance in the right middle lobe, according to MedPage Today.
Allison Lambert, MD, states, “From these data, we conclude that, among patients with COPD who have CT-defined emphysema, losartan has the potential to prevent emphysema progression. Our secondary outcomes were unchanged.” Lambert says the next step in the researchers’ clinical investigation will be to conduct a phase III clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health Pulmonary Trials Consortium.
“We anticipate recruiting 220 patients with emphysema, which will afford 90% power to detect differences as identified in our phase II trial,” says Lambert.
Source: MedPage Today
