Wednesday, May 9, 2012

New, more effective stroke prevention drug now available

SINGAPORE: A new anti-coagulant drug that promises to be more effective in preventing stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder, is now available in private clinics.

Called Xarelto, it is manufactured by Bayer and is expected to be out in restructured hospitals in Singapore in one to three months.

A clinical trial was conducted over four years from 2006, to determine the efficacy of the new drug.

It was tested on more than 14,200 patients from 45 countries.

Of these, 44 patients were from Singapore.

Also involved in the trial were the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS), the National Neuroscience Institute and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

The clinical trial, using the double-blind and double-dummy method, is described by NHCS cardiologist Professor Tan Ru San, as "one of the most robust".

Double-blindness means researchers and patients had no clue which treatment was given while double-dummy refers to standardised patient monitoring.

These are ways to prevent biases during the trial.

The trial showed that the new drug reduced the risk of stroke in patients by up to 20 per cent, compared to the commonly-prescribed drug, known as Warfarin.

Other findings include fewer haemorrhagic stroke and mortality.

Atrial fibrillation causes about 15 per cent of hospital admissions due to stroke.

The burden of the condition is expected to soar with Singapore's rapidly-ageing population.

Atrial fibrillation stroke is expected to rise as the number of people worldwide with the condition is estimated to increase by more than two-fold by 2050.

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