CORRECTED-Health Rounds: Experimental drug delays heart valve disease progression, and potentially surgery

Corrects headline and first item in Feb 25 Health Rounds newsletter to reflect that Sanofi is no longer involved in the drug's development

By Nancy Lapid

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Hello, Health Rounds Readers! Procedures to replace diseased heart valves are increasingly common, but today we have data on a promising experimental drug that may slow deterioration of the valve and delay the need for surgery. We also report on new technology that may help reveal hidden lung problems in children with long COVID.

Experimental drug may delay or prevent heart valve surgery

An experimental drug originally developed by Sanofi SASY.PA that is now being advanced by the Mayo Clinic significantly curbed progression of aortic valve stenosis, a common heart problem, in clinical trials, potentially preventing the need for surgery, researchers reported.

Aortic valve stenosis, a narrowing due to calcium deposits that forces the heart to work harder to move blood to the body, currently can only be monitored until the condition becomes severe enough to warrant valve replacement surgery.

The drug ataciguat has been tested in early and mid-stage trials of patients with moderate aortic valve stenosis.

The most recent 23-patient trial showed a nearly 70% reduction in aortic valve calcification progression at six months compared to placebo. Patients receiving ataciguat tended to maintain better heart muscle function as well, researchers reported in the journal Circulation.

"This research represents a significant advancement in the treatment of aortic valve stenosis," study leader Jordan Miller of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota said in a statement.

"Ataciguat has the potential to substantially delay or even prevent the need for valve replacement surgery, significantly improving the lives of millions."

Patients who require valve replacement before age 55 are highly likely to need additional valve replacement surgeries over their lifetime due to recalcification of the implanted valve, Miller said.

By slowing progression of the disease in the patient’s native aortic valve, ataciguat offers the potential for a once-in-a-lifetime procedure, because valves implanted in older people are less likely to calcify, he said.

The Mayo Clinic is planning a larger late-stage trial of ataciguat with an industry partner that could be used to seek regulatory approval.

Hidden lung problems discovered in children with long COVID

An advanced type of magnetic resonance imaging has revealed significant - and previously unrecognized - lung abnormalities in children and adolescents with long COVID, researchers reported on Tuesday in Radiology.

Conventional exams in young patients with suspected long COVID – such as pulmonary function tests, echocardiography and reviews of medical history - often show normal lung and cardiac function, the researchers said.

“Parents should understand that their children’s persistent symptoms after COVID-19 may have a measurable physiological basis, even when standard medical tests appear normal,” study leader Dr. Gesa Pohler of Hannover Medical School in Germany said in a statement.

The advanced technology, known as a phase-resolved functional lung (PREFUL) MRI, showed that children and adolescents with long COVID had significantly reduced blood flow in the lungs compared with healthy counterparts.

In addition to poor blood flow, a subgroup of long COVID patients with cardiopulmonary symptoms, such as shortness of breath, also showed a reduction of air movement and reach in the lungs.

PREFUL MRI is particularly suitable for use in children because it doesn’t involve radiation or intravenous contrast agents and can be done while the patient breathes freely, the researchers noted.

The tool may become a useful means of classifying and monitoring the severity of long COVID in youngsters going forward, Pohler said.