Medizinonline Medizinonline
  • News
    • News
    • Market & Medicine
  • Patients
    • Disease patterns
    • Diagnostics
    • Therapy
  • Partner Content
    • Dermatology
      • Atopic dermatitis and psoriasis news
      • Dermatology News
    • Diabetes
      • Dia-Month Club – Type 2 Diabetes
      • Diabetes in Motion
      • Diabetes Podcasts
    • Gastroenterology
      • IBD matters
      • Ozanimod: ulcerative colitis
      • Reflux Update
    • Immunology
      • Primary immunodeficiency – exchange of experience
    • Vaccinate
      • Herpes zoster
    • Infektiologie
    • Neurology
      • EXPERT ULTRASONIC: Introduction to ultrasound-guided injection
      • MS News
      • MS Therapy in Transition
    • Oncology
      • Swiss Oncology in motion
    • Orthopedics
      • Osteoporosis in motion
    • Phytotherapie
    • Practice Management
      • Aargau Cantonal Bank
      • Claraspital
    • Psychiatry
      • Geriatric Psychiatry
    • Rheumatology
  • Departments
    • Allergology and clinical immunology
    • General Internal Medicine
    • Anesthesiology
    • Angiology
    • Surgery
    • Dermatology and venereology
    • Endocrinology and Diabetology
    • Nutrition
    • Gastroenterology and Hepatology
    • Genetics
    • Geriatrics
    • Gynecology
    • Hematology
    • Infectiology
    • Cardiology
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Emergency and intensive care medicine
    • Nuclear Medicine
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • ORL
    • Orthopedics
    • Pediatrics
    • Pharmacology and toxicology
    • Pharmaceutical medicine
    • Phlebology
    • Physical medicine and rehabilitation
    • Pneumology
    • Prevention and health care
    • Psychiatry and psychotherapy
    • Radiology
    • Forensic Medicine
    • Rheumatology
    • Sports Medicine
    • Traumatology and trauma surgery
    • Tropical and travel medicine
    • Urology
    • Dentistry
  • CME & Congresses
    • CME continuing education
    • Congress Reports
    • Congress calendar
  • Practice
    • Noctimed
    • Practice Management
    • Jobs
    • Interviews
  • Log In
  • Register
  • My account
  • Contact
  • English
    • Deutsch
    • Français
    • Italiano
    • Português
    • Español
  • Publications
  • Contact
  • Deutsch
  • English
  • Français
  • Italiano
  • Português
  • Español
Subscribe
Medizinonline Medizinonline
Medizinonline Medizinonline
  • News
    • News
    • Market & Medicine
  • Patienten
    • Krankheitsbilder
    • Diagnostik
    • Therapie
  • Partner Content
    • Dermatology
      • Atopic dermatitis and psoriasis news
      • Dermatology News
    • Diabetes
      • Dia-Month Club – Type 2 Diabetes
      • Diabetes in Motion
      • Diabetes Podcasts
    • Gastroenterology
      • IBD matters
      • Ozanimod: ulcerative colitis
      • Reflux Update
    • Immunology
      • Primary immunodeficiency – exchange of experience
    • Vaccinate
      • Herpes zoster
    • Infektiologie
    • Neurology
      • EXPERT ULTRASONIC: Introduction to ultrasound-guided injection
      • MS News
      • MS Therapy in Transition
    • Oncology
      • Swiss Oncology in motion
    • Orthopedics
      • Osteoporosis in motion
    • Phytotherapie
    • Practice Management
      • Aargau Cantonal Bank
      • Claraspital
    • Psychiatry
      • Geriatric Psychiatry
    • Rheumatology
  • Departments
    • Fachbereiche 1-13
      • Allergology and clinical immunology
      • General Internal Medicine
      • Anesthesiology
      • Angiology
      • Surgery
      • Dermatology and venereology
      • Endocrinology and Diabetology
      • Nutrition
      • Gastroenterology and Hepatology
      • Genetics
      • Geriatrics
      • Gynecology
      • Hematology
    • Fachbereiche 14-26
      • Infectiology
      • Cardiology
      • Nephrology
      • Neurology
      • Emergency and intensive care medicine
      • Nuclear Medicine
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • ORL
      • Orthopedics
      • Pediatrics
      • Pharmacology and toxicology
      • Pharmaceutical medicine
    • Fachbereiche 26-38
      • Phlebology
      • Physical medicine and rehabilitation
      • Phytotherapy
      • Pneumology
      • Prevention and health care
      • Psychiatry and psychotherapy
      • Radiology
      • Forensic Medicine
      • Rheumatology
      • Sports Medicine
      • Traumatology and trauma surgery
      • Tropical and travel medicine
      • Urology
      • Dentistry
  • CME & Congresses
    • CME continuing education
    • Congress Reports
    • Congress calendar
  • Practice
    • Noctimed
    • Practice Management
    • Jobs
    • Interviews
Login

Sie haben noch keinen Account? Registrieren

  • Cardiology Update Davos

Hopeful therapy for acute heart failure

    • Cardiology
    • Congress Reports
    • RX
    • Studies
  • 2 minute read

Although the symptoms of acute heart failure can be treated successfully for the most part, the long-term prognosis remains poor. This could change, at least for some patients, as a study with the active ingredient Serelaxin shows.

The RELAX-AHF trial investigated the effect of serelaxin in patients with acute heart failure [1]. Serelaxin is the recombinant form of the human peptide hormone relaxin-2, which is produced more abundantly during pregnancy and mediates various hemodynamic adaptations.

These include increases in cardiac ejection fraction, decreases in systemic vascular resistance, and increased renal blood flow. Relaxin-2 also appears to possess anti-ischemic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fibrotic properties.

The multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled RELAX-AHF trial included 1150 patients hospitalized for acute heart failure. With the aim of minimizing the development of end-organ damage by early initiation of therapy, subjects were administered placebo or serelaxin 30 μg/kg/day i.v. for 48 hours in addition to standard therapy within 16 hours of admission. Primary endpoints of the study were first, the decrease in dyspnea after five days as measured by the visual analog scale (VAS), and second, the proportion of patients who reported moderate or marked improvement in their dyspnea on the Likert scale during the first 24 hours. Secondary end points were defined as days of survival and days out of hospital, and the number of cardiovascular deaths and re-hospitalizations 60 days after treatment. In addition, all-cause mortality was recorded after 180 days (safety endpoint).

Results of the RELAX-AF study

As the results of the study showed, dyspnea had significantly improved in the Serelaxin group compared to baseline at five days (VAS). No difference to placebo was observed regarding the other endpoints. The result of the six-month follow-up was all the more surprising. This showed that 37% fewer deaths occurred in the Serelaxin group than with placebo (42 vs. 65, HR 0.63 [95% CI 0.43-0.93; p=0.02]). An equally large reduction was seen in cardiovascular-related deaths (Fig. 1) . “The significance of this result is limited by the fact that the study was not planned to investigate mortality,” said Prof. Piotr Ponikowski, MD. For the first time, however, it has been possible to show that mortality can be influenced by early intervention.

Paradigparadigm shift in heart failure therapy is called for.

The study results are consistent with Prof. Ponikowski’s call for a paradigm shift in acute heart failure therapy. Current treatment focuses primarily on rapid symptom relief. “What we need is a treatment that works quickly while improving the long-term prognosis,” Prof. Ponikowski said. For the study population under investigation, which includes elderly patients with normal to elevated blood pressure and various comorbidities, Serelaxin may represent such a treatment. “However, to believe that the different entities of acute heart failure can be treated with only one therapy is naive.”

Source: Cardiology Update Davos 2013,February 10-15.

Literature:

  1. Teerlink JR, et al: Serelaxin, recombinant human relaxin-2, for treatment of acute heart failure (RELAX-AHF): a randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2013; 381(9860): 29-39.
Autoren
  • Regina Scharf
Publikation
  • CARDIOVASC
Related Topics
  • Cardiology Update
  • Heart failure
  • RELAX-AHF Study
Previous Article
  • Diastolic heart failure

Treat concomitant diseases, modify lifestyle

  • Cardiology
  • Congress Reports
  • RX
View Post
Next Article
  • Second generation antiepileptic drugs

Fewer side effects, no improved efficacy

  • Education
  • Neurology
  • Psychiatry and psychotherapy
  • RX
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • 6 min
  • New evidence on genetics, pathophysiology and clinical significance

Migraine with and without aura – two different entities?

    • Education
    • General Internal Medicine
    • Neurology
    • Pharmacology and toxicology
    • Psychiatry and psychotherapy
    • Radiology
    • RX
    • Studies
View Post
  • 14 min
  • Prevention of skin cancer

UV protection and skin cancer screening – Update 2025

    • CME continuing education
    • Dermatology and venereology
    • Interviews
    • Oncology
    • Prevention and health care
    • RX
    • Studies
View Post
  • 5 min
  • Case report: L. pneumophila pneumonia

Negative test results – but no alternative diagnoses

    • Cases
    • Education
    • Infectiology
    • Pneumology
    • RX
View Post
  • 6 min
  • Clinical case reports and implications for GP care

Magnesium deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy in the peripartum context

    • Cardiology
    • Cases
    • Education
    • General Internal Medicine
    • Gynecology
    • Nutrition
    • RX
View Post
  • 9 min
  • SID Annual Meeting: Highlights

Update on inflammatory dermatoses – a concentrated load of innovative power

    • Allergology and clinical immunology
    • Congress Reports
    • Dermatology and venereology
    • RX
    • Studies
View Post
  • 4 min
  • Case series

Bleeding prophylaxis for von Willebrand disease

    • Cases
    • Congress Reports
    • Gastroenterology and Hepatology
    • General Internal Medicine
    • Genetics
    • Hematology
    • RX
View Post
  • 4 min
  • A critical analysis of the evidence from 113 studies

Nutrition and depression

    • Education
    • Nutrition
    • Psychiatry and psychotherapy
    • RX
    • Studies
View Post
  • 5 min
  • An emerging interface with clinical relevance

Lung cancer and neuroscience

    • Education
    • Neurology
    • Oncology
    • Pneumology
    • RX
Top Partner Content
  • Herpes zoster

    Zum Thema
Top CME content
  • 1
    Yellow nail and Swyer-James syndrome
  • 2
    Individual therapy management for an optimized outcome – an update
  • 3
    Doing sport without fear or risk
  • 4
    UV protection and skin cancer screening – Update 2025
  • 5
    Rare malignancy from a dermatological perspective

Newsletter

Sign up and stay up to date

Subscribe
Medizinonline
  • Contact
  • General terms and conditions
  • Imprint

Input your search keywords and press Enter.