Reduction in the recurrence of stroke by eicosapentaenoic acid for hypercholesterolemic patients: subanalysis of the JELIS trial.
OBJECTIVE
The JELIS trial examined the preventive effect of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) against coronary artery diseases. Hypercholesterolemic patients received statin only (no EPA group: n=9319) or statin with EPA (EPA group: n=9326) for around 5 years. EPA significantly suppressed the incidence of coronary events in previous analysis. Herein, we investigated the effects of EPA on the primary and secondary prevention of stroke.


METHODS
We conducted a subanalysis of JELIS with respect to stroke incidence in the primary and secondary prevention subgroups defined as those without and with a prior history of stroke using Cox proportional hazard ratios, adjusted for baseline risk factor levels.


RESULTS
As for primary prevention of stroke, this occurred in 114 (1.3%) of 8862 no EPA group and in 133 (1.5%) of 8841 EPA group. No statistically significant difference in total stroke incidence (Hazard Ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 0.95 to 1.22) was observed between the no EPA and the EPA groups. In the secondary prevention subgroup, stroke occurred in 48 (10.5%) of 457 no EPA group and in 33 (6.8%) of 485 EPA group, showing a 20% relative reduction in recurrent stroke in the EPA group (Hazard Ratio, 0.80; 95% confidence interval, 0.64 to 0.997).


CONCLUSIONS
Administration of highly purified EPA appeared to reduce the risk of recurrent stroke in a Japanese population of hypercholesterolemic patients receiving low-dose statin therapy. Further research is needed to determine whether similar benefits are found in other populations with lower levels of fish intake. The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (number NCT00231738).
Tanaka
Kortaro
K
Department of Neurology, Toyama University Hospital, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan. kortaro@med.u-toyama.ac.jp
Ishikawa
Yuichi
Y
Yokoyama
Mitsuhiro
M
Origasa
Hideki
H
Matsuzaki
Masunori
M
Saito
Yasushi
Y
Matsuzawa
Yuji
Y
Sasaki
Jun
J
Oikawa
Shinichi
S
Hishida
Hitoshi
H
Itakura
Hiroshige
H
Kita
Toru
T
Kitabatake
Akira
A
Nakaya
Noriaki
N
Sakata
Toshiie
T
Shimada
Kazuyuki
K
Shirato
Kunio
K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D020521:Stroke / Q000517:prevention & control*
D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D005227:Fatty Acids; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid