In Chicago, there are reports that say an angiotensin receptor blocker is not better than the standard type of beta blockers for slowing down aortic root enlargement that usually leads to partition and death in Marfan syndrome according to a trial. The aortic root size standardized for the body surface area & adjusted for baseline can improve adequately with the treatment for both groups. The Z score slopes became negative for losartan and atenolol.

There are 3 year rates of aortic root surgery, aortic dissection, and death & composite that didn’t differ accordingly between the 2 treatment groups. This was written in an immediate publication online. There was a PR released by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute with big funds and the study found out that there is another treatment plan for connective tissue disease.

How the study was conducted

The study resulted in a very valuable clinical practice. Both the medications taken by the participants of the study and losartan might just be another cure selection for the patients having Marfan syndrome.  On the other hand, it is just similar to a trial that was found effective and this was revealed during the press conference held. There was no placebo arm during the trial conducted.  There was an evidence for a very positive result of beta blockers on aortic root aneurysms though weak. If the experimental is about comparing against a straw man placebo, the push of the experimental is about losartan and that it has no benefits at all to the patient.

The result of the study conducted

It will be best to just pause for a while. In the meantime, clinicians must push through in considering beta blockers to become the prime medical therapy for aortic protection in Marfan syndrome. Losartan may be a reasonable treatment choice for patients who just cannot take beta blockers. The dangers of harm when taking losartan may quite little and tolerable, but its efficiency must be established first before it became the first option of therapy for patients.

There is really hope for patients and there are drugs that are really effective. In fact, there is a group that currently showed the benefits they got from statins. The Lacro group had appropriately lined up a molecular basis through the years why an ARB must be enhanced in the populace with animal models and small studies. On the other hand, the negative findings were doubtful to become false negative, since the experimental was well powered, adequately with enough amount of losartan.

In this trial there were 608 Marfan syndrome patients with ages 4 months to around 25 years old with aortic root Z score than is over than 3 seen in 21 clinical centers. They were haphazard atenolol in a maximum dose that can help in lessening the heart rate by around 20% or losartan in a minimum dose per day for around 3 years.