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AzTrials

Cardiovascular DiseasesPhase 3NCT00000553

HDL-Atherosclerosis Treatment Study (HATS)

A Phase 3 study testing simvastatin, niacin and antioxidants in people with Cardiovascular Diseases and Coronary Disease, run by University of Washington.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

To measure the effects of lipid-lowering drugs and/or antioxidant vitamins on progression or regression of coronary heart disease as measured by quantitative angiography in patients with low high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 35 to 68 years
What is being tested?
simvastatin, niacin and antioxidants
How many people
Not given
Where
No sites listed yet
Study dates
Sep 1994to Feb 2001
Phase
Phase 3
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 35 to 68 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Men and women with low HDL cholesterol, with at least one 50% stenotic coronary lesion or three 30% stenotic coronary lesions. Women range in age from 35 to less than 68 and men from 35 to less than 63.

About this study

To measure the effects of lipid-lowering drugs and/or antioxidant vitamins on progression or regression of coronary heart disease as measured by quantitative angiography in patients with low high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

Read the detailed description

BACKGROUND:

More than one-third of patients with coronary disease have "low" high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) levels (less than 35 mg/dl; United States 20th percentile) and "normal" low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) (less than 145; United States mean), a group for whom current treatment guidelines are not based on clinical trial data. Low HDLc levels are strong, independent predictors of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular mortality risk, equally so for both men and women. This high coronary artery disease risk may be due to an imbalance between delivery of cholesterol into the arterial intima by LDL and its removal by HDL. Also, since HDL serve as antioxidants and cytoprotectants, an important HDL role may be to prevent LDL oxidation and thus limit macrophage-mediated intimal lipid accumulation or to prevent vascular cell toxicity. Recent epidemiologic, experimental, and clinical trial evidence suggests that a 15 mg/dl rise in HDL cholesterol would reduce coronary artery disease incidence and mortality by 30 to 70 percent and that antioxidant vitamins E, C, and beta-carotene might reduce coronary artery disease events and atherogenesis. The potential absolute benefit is much greater in those with existing coronary artery disease. It has also been shown that HDLc rises in response to exercise, smoking cessation, weight reduction, and monounsaturated fats.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

Randomized, Phase III. Each patient was randomly assigned to a lipid-altering strategy or its placebo and to an antioxidant vitamin strategy or its placebo, in a 2 x 2 factorial design. The four groups were simvastatin-niacin plus an antioxidant vitamin cocktail; simvastatin-niacin plus vitamin placebo; antioxidant vitamins alone plus simvastatin-niacin placebo; or placebos for both strategies. All groups were counseled with respect to diet, exercise, and smoking cessation. The primary endpoint was the average change in proximal obstructive disease during the 2.5 year interval between baseline and the followup study. Secondary endpoints included the frequency of cardiac events, including cardiac death, confirmed non-fatal myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, or revascularization by bypass or angioplasty for medically refractory unstable ischemia. The trial ended in August, 1999.

Being tested
simvastatin, niacin, antioxidants
Medical subject headings
Cardiovascular Diseases, Coronary Disease, Heart Diseases, Myocardial Ischemia

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted28 Oct 1999 (estimated)
  2. Study startSep 1994
  3. Study completionFeb 2001

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Factorial
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00000553
Sponsor's protocol ID
97
Other IDs
R01HL049546
Status last verified
Mar 2005
First submitted
27 Oct 1999
Last updated
10 Feb 2016
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Brown G, Stewart BF, Zhao XQ, Hillger LA, Poulin D, Albers JJ. What benefit can be derived from treating normocholesterolemic patients with coronary artery disease? Am J Cardiol. 1995 Sep 28;76(9):93C-97C. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9149(99)80477-9.

    PubMed 7572694
  • Brown BG, Zhao XQ, Chait A, Frohlich J, Cheung M, Heise N, Dowdy A, DeAngelis D, Fisher LD, Albers J. Lipid altering or antioxidant vitamins for patients with coronary disease and very low HDL cholesterol? The HDL-Atherosclerosis Treatment Study Design. Can J Cardiol. 1998 Apr;14 Suppl A:6A-13A.

    PubMed 9594927
  • Cheung MC, Wolfbauer G, Brown BG, Albers JJ. Relationship between plasma phospholipid transfer protein activity and HDL subclasses among patients with low HDL and cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis. 1999 Jan;142(1):201-5. doi: 10.1016/s0021-9150(98)00190-7.

    PubMed 9920522
  • Brown BG, Zhao XQ, Chait A, Fisher LD, Cheung MC, Morse JS, Dowdy AA, Marino EK, Bolson EL, Alaupovic P, Frohlich J, Albers JJ. Simvastatin and niacin, antioxidant vitamins, or the combination for the prevention of coronary disease. N Engl J Med. 2001 Nov 29;345(22):1583-92. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa011090.

    PubMed 11757504
  • Brown BG, Cheung MC, Lee AC, Zhao XQ, Chait A. Antioxidant vitamins and lipid therapy: end of a long romance? Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2002 Oct 1;22(10):1535-46. doi: 10.1161/01.atv.0000034706.24149.95.

    PubMed 12377728
  • Williams PT, Zhao XQ, Marcovina SM, Otvos JD, Brown BG, Krauss RM. Comparison of four methods of analysis of lipoprotein particle subfractions for their association with angiographic progression of coronary artery disease. Atherosclerosis. 2014 Apr;233(2):713-720. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2014.01.034. Epub 2014 Jan 30.

    PubMed 24603218
  • Williams PT, Zhao XQ, Marcovina SM, Brown BG, Krauss RM. Levels of cholesterol in small LDL particles predict atherosclerosis progression and incident CHD in the HDL-Atherosclerosis Treatment Study (HATS). PLoS One. 2013;8(2):e56782. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056782. Epub 2013 Feb 27.

    PubMed 23460815

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 3 study testing simvastatin, niacin and antioxidants in people with Cardiovascular Diseases and Coronary Disease, run by University of Washington.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 10 Feb 2016. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 3 studies compare the treatment with the current standard treatment or a placebo in a large group, to confirm how well it works and watch for side effects.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00000553, which also lists 7 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 10 Feb 2016.

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