Patients Complete Treatment in Vasomedical's MUST-EECP Trial
WESTBURY, N.Y.--(BW HealthWire)--July 7, 1997--MUST-EECP (Multi-Center Study of Enhanced External Counterpulsation), the first randomized controlled clinical trial of external counterpulsation, has completed the patient treatment phase and is being readied for analysis.
The study surpassed its recruitment and retention goals, entering 139 participants. This event marks the end of the most time-consuming part of the study and opens the data entry and analysis phase. Study results will be made available to investigators in the near future. MUST-EECP was designed to confirm effectiveness, to quantify benefits, and to determine further which patients will benefit most from EECP(R).
``To my knowledge, MUST-EECP is unique in that it is the only blinded, controlled study of its kind and is unlikely to be repeated,'' said Peter Cohn, MD, Professor of Medicine and Chief of Cardiology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Dr. Cohn, who is chairman of the study steering group, remarked further that, ``One group of study participants received EECP(R) and a randomized 'control' group received 'inactive' but otherwise identical treatment. Each participant was required to visit an outpatient center daily for four to seven weeks to receive one-hour treatments. We anticipate the presentation of study results at one of the major medical meetings.''
Institutions participating in MUST-EECP are: University of California San Francisco, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, Beth Israel -- Deaconess Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, Yale University School of Medicine, Grant/Riverside Methodist Hospitals in Columbus, Ohio, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago.
Vasomedical Inc., Westbury, N.Y., (NASDAQ:VASO), developer and marketer of EECP(R), sponsored the study.
There are more than seven million angina patients in the United States, most of whom would be suitable for treatment with this technique. Currently, people suffering with angina pectoris may receive EECP(R) at hospitals and clinics throughout the country. Vasomedical Inc., provides equipment, staff training, and treatment guidelines.
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Contact:
Vasomedical Inc., Westbury
Anthony E. Peacock, vice president of clinical affairs
516/997-4600, ext. 20
or
Natalie Karp, investor relations
516/997-4600, ext. 776 |
