The Use of Icosapent Ethyl on Vascular Progenitor Cells
in Individuals with Elevated Cardiovascular Risk.
The IPE-PREVENTION CardioLink-14 Trial

Principal Investigators
Subodh Verma
MD, PhD, FRCSC
Deepak L. Bhatt
MD, MPH
David A. Hess
PhD
Co-Investigators
Lawrence A. Leiter
MD, FRCPC
C. David Mazer
MD, FRCPC
Hwee Teoh
PhD
The role of omega-3 fatty acids in improving cardiovascular health has been largely inconclusive and confounded by the heterogeneous nature of omega-3 fatty acids.  Icosapent ethyl (IPE), a highly purified omega-3 fatty acid, was recently found to improve cardiovascular outcomes in individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease with elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. The IPE-PREVENTION CardioLink-14 trial was designed to characterize stem cell populations in people with, or at risk for, cardiovascular disease.  Leveraging a novel flow cytometry technique, stem cell data was used to assess Regenerative Cell Exhaustion (RCE), an indicator of the reparative capacity of blood vessels.  The study hypothesized that some of the benefit seen in patients with elevated cholesterol/triglycerides and risk of cardiovascular disease may be attributed to positive changes in the function and number of vascular regenerative cells. Primary data collection is complete and the manuscript is published in Med.
View details on ClinicalTrials.gov
Primary Publication
Bakbak E, Krishnaraj A, Bhatt DL, Quan A, Park B, Bakbak AI, Bari B, Terenzi KA, Pan Y, Fry EJ, Terenzi DC, Puar P, Khan TS, Rotstein OD, Mazer CD, Leiter LA, Teoh H, Hess DA, Verma S. Icosapent ethyl modulates circulating vascular regenerative cell content: The IPE-PREVENTION CardioLink-14 trial. Med. 2024 Jul 12;5(7):718-734.e4.
View details on PubMed