Jane Armitage

Last updated
Jane Armitage

OBE FRCP FFPH
Born
Jane Margaret Armitage
Scientific career
Fields Cardiovascular disease
Clinical trials
Institutions University of Oxford
Clinical Trial Service Unit
Website www.ndph.ox.ac.uk/team/jane-armitage

Jane Margaret Armitage OBE FRCP FFPH is a professor of clinical trials and epidemiology in the Clinical Trial Service Unit at the University of Oxford. She works on the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease and has led large-scale randomized controlled trials.

Contents

Early life and education

Armitage qualified in medicine in 1979. [1] She worked in respiratory medicine, geriatrics and diabetes. [2]

Research and career

In 1990 Armitage joined the Clinical Trial Service Unit. [3] She has served as Director of Training & Career Development as well as leading the Medical Research Council Population Health Research Unit. [4] She is best known for her work on the safety of statins. [5]

Armitage led the 1999 Medical Research Council and British Heart Foundation Heart Protection Study, which included 20,000 participants. [6] The study is the largest that investigates the use of statins to prevent cardiovascular disease. [6] She was also the lead for the Study of the Effectiveness of Additional Reductions in Cholesterol and Homocysteine (SEARCH) study and the Heart Protection Study 2 (HPS2) Treatment of HDL to Reduce the Incidence of Vascular Events (THRIVE) study. [6] [7] She demonstrated that statins are also safe for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. [8]

Armitage was Chief Investigator for the ASCEND aspirin trial, which studied cardiovascular disease in 15,480 patients with diabetes. [9] [10] ASCEND was the largest ever study that had every been performed to investigate whether aspirin should be used to prevent cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients. [10] The trial found that whilst aspirin reduces the risk of cardiovascular events by 12%, it increases the risk of major bleeding. [11] As an addition to the ASCEND study, Armitage was supported by Alzheimer's Research UK to study the impact of aspirin and fish oil on memory and cognition in patients with diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. [12] They also studied whether aspirin changes the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease. She also investigated whether fish oil and vitamin D supplements reduced cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients, but found they had no impact. [10] [13]

She is an editor for the journal Atherosclerosis. [14]

Awards and honours

2019 Awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to medical research [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statin</span> Class of drugs used to lower cholesterol levels

Statins, also known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, are a class of lipid-lowering medications that reduce illness and mortality in those who are at high risk of cardiovascular disease. They are the most commonly prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C-reactive protein</span> Mammalian protein found in humans

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an annular (ring-shaped) pentameric protein found in blood plasma, whose circulating concentrations rise in response to inflammation. It is an acute-phase protein of hepatic origin that increases following interleukin-6 secretion by macrophages and T cells. Its physiological role is to bind to lysophosphatidylcholine expressed on the surface of dead or dying cells in order to activate the complement system via C1q.

Dyslipidemia is a metabolic disorder characterized by abnormally high or low amounts of any or all lipids or lipoproteins in the blood. Dyslipidemia is a risk factor for the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD), which include coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral artery disease. Although dyslipidemia is a risk factor for ASCVD, abnormal levels don't mean that lipid lowering agents need to be started. Other factors, such as comorbid conditions and lifestyle in addition to dyslipidemia, is considered in a cardiovascular risk assessment. In developed countries, most dyslipidemias are hyperlipidemias; that is, an elevation of lipids in the blood. This is often due to diet and lifestyle. Prolonged elevation of insulin resistance can also lead to dyslipidemia. Likewise, increased levels of O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) may cause dyslipidemia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart Protection Study</span>

The Heart Protection Study was a randomized controlled trial run by the Clinical Trial Service Unit, and funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in the United Kingdom. It studied the use of the cholesterol lowering drug, simvastatin 40 mg and vitamin supplementation in people who were at risk of cardiovascular disease. It was led by Jane Armitage, an epidemiologist at the Clinical Trial Service Unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atorvastatin</span> Cholesterol-lowering medication

Atorvastatin, sold under the brand name Lipitor among others, is a statin medication used to prevent cardiovascular disease in those at high risk and to treat abnormal lipid levels. For the prevention of cardiovascular disease, statins are a first-line treatment. It is taken by mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simvastatin</span> Lipid-lowering medication

Simvastatin, sold under the brand name Zocor among others, is a statin, a type of lipid-lowering medication. It is used along with exercise, diet, and weight loss to decrease elevated lipid levels. It is also used to decrease the risk of heart problems in those at high risk. It is taken by mouth.

A polypill is a type of drug combination consisting of a single drug product in pill form and thus combines multiple medications. The prefix "poly" means "multiple", referring to the multiplicity of distinct drugs in a given "pill". In precise usage, a pill is a polypill if it contains at least 4 drugs. An occasional synonym is combopill. A polypill is commonly targets treatment or prevention of chronic conditions.

Sir Richard Peto is an English statistician and epidemiologist who is Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology at the University of Oxford, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenofibrate</span> Drug of the fibrate class, mainly used to reduce cholesterol levels

Fenofibrate, is an oral medication of the fibrate class used to treat abnormal blood lipid levels. It is less commonly used compared than statins because it treats a different type of cholesterol abnormality to statins. While statins have strong evidence for reducing heart disease and death, there is evidence to suggest that fenofibrate also reduces the risk of heart disease and death. However, this seems only to apply to specific populations of people with elevated triglyceride levels and reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Its use is recommended together with dietary changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Feldman</span> American neurologist

Eva Lucille Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.N., F.A.N.A. is an American physician-scientist and one of the world’s leading authorities on neurodegenerative disease. Currently, she serves as the Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology at the University of Michigan, as well as Director of the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies and ALS Center of Excellence at Michigan Medicine. She was also recently named the James W. Albers Distinguished University Professor of Neurology, the highest faculty honor at the university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinical Trial Service Unit</span>

The Clinical Trial Service Unit (CTSU) is a medical research institute within the Nuffield Department of Population Health at Oxford University. It primarily conducts large scale clinical trials and epidemiological studies of chronic diseases, especially cancer and vascular conditions. It is located in the Richard Doll Building (RDB) on the Old Road Campus, in Headington, Oxford, England.

The JUPITER trial was a clinical trial aimed at evaluating whether statins reduce heart attacks and strokes in people with normal cholesterol levels.

Polycap is a specific five-in-one fixed dose combination polypill created by Cadila Pharmaceuticals Limited of Ahmedabad, India that combines moderate levels of five different medications in a single, one-a-day pill aimed at reducing/preventing heart attacks and strokes.

Professor Peter Sleight M.D.(Cantab.), D.M. (Oxon.) FRCP FACC was a distinguished and internationally renowned research cardiologist and an Honorary Consultant Physician at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Sleight was Emeritus Field Marshal Alexander Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Oxford and an Emeritus Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford.

Salim Yusuf is an Indian-born Canadian physician, the Marion W. Burke Chair in Cardiovascular Disease at McMaster University Medical School. He is a cardiologist and epidemiologist. Yusuf has criticized the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and disputes the scientific consensus on dietary sodium and saturated fat intake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rahul Potluri</span>

Rahul Potluri is a British physician, researcher and founder of ACALM Study Unit, United Kingdom (UK). His clinical epidemiology research unit is one of the first to use big data in healthcare and medical research. His work has shown for the first time a link between high cholesterol and breast cancer. Further research has suggested the role of cholesterol and possibly statins improving the mortality in patients with breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and bowel cancer. Other prominent studies include health services research evaluating differences in death rates from weekend admission and discharge from UK hospitals, ethnic variations and the interplay between cardiovascular disease and mental health.

Dr Anil Pareek; is an Indian medical researcher with contributions in hypertension, metabolic disorder and inflammation. His prior experience includes academics and clinical practice. He is involved in drug development process targeting therapy gaps to create scope for innovative products.

The BaleDoneen Method is a risk assessment and treatment protocol aimed at preventing heart attack and stroke. The method also seeks to prevent or reduce the effects of type 2 diabetes. The method was developed by Bradley Field Bale and Amy Doneen.

Colin Baigent is a British academic physician and cardiovascular epidemiologist. He is a professor of epidemiology, Director of the Medical Research Council Population Health Research Unit at the University of Oxford, and deputy director of the Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit (CTSU), part of Oxford Population Health. His work is focused in the design and coordination of large-scale randomised trials and the use of meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of drugs for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or premature death.

Linda Sharples is a British statistician who is Professor of Medical Statistics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Her research considers statistical analysis of medical interventions. She has provided expert advice to clinical trials on cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.

References

  1. ↑ Wren, Brenda (2014-12-16). The Medical Directory 2015. CRC Press. p. 196. ISBN   9781498728393.
  2. ↑ "HPS Info : Biography : Jane Armitage". www.hpsinfo.org. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  3. ↑ "Jane Armitage—Nuffield Department of Population Health". www.ndph.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  4. ↑ "Professor Jane Armitage recognised for services to medical research—Oxford Clinical Trial Service Unit & Epidemiological Studies Unit (CTSU)". www.ctsu.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  5. ↑ Armitage, Jane (2007-11-24). "The safety of statins in clinical practice". The Lancet. 370 (9601): 1781–1790. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60716-8. ISSN   0140-6736. PMID   17559928. S2CID   205948651.
  6. 1 2 3 "Professor Jane Armitage | University of Oxford". www.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  7. ↑ "THRIVE Home Page". www.thrivestudy.org. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  8. ↑ "Statins safe for preventing cardiovascular events in rheumatoid arthritis patients, study suggests". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  9. ↑ "ACCEL Lite: Featured ACCEL Interview With Erik Magnus Ohman and Jane Margaret Armitage". castbox.fm. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  10. 1 2 3 "Q&A: Jane Armitage, FRCP, FFPH, on the ASCEND Trial Results for Aspirin Benefits". MD Magazine. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  11. ↑ "ASCEND: Aspirin Not Needed for Primary Prevention in Diabetes". Medscape. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  12. ↑ "Oxford researchers to ask whether fish oils or aspirin could delay dementia". Alzheimer's Research UK. 2016-09-21. Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  13. ↑ "Heart meeting features fish oil, vitamin D, cholesterol news". Modern Healthcare. 2018-11-12. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  14. ↑ "Jane Armitage - European Atherosclerosis Society". www.eas-society.org. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  15. ↑ "New Year's Honours 2019 | University of Oxford". www.ox.ac.uk. 29 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.