Gerald Watts Articles
Paediatric FH: what do we still need to know?
FH is a common inherited hyperlipidaemia, characterized by elevated cholesterol levels from birth which, if untreated, lead to accelerated atherosclerosis and premature coronary artery disease in adulthood. Clearly, there is an urgent need to identify these individuals in childhood so as to instigate treatment as…
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Screening for Lipid Disorders in Children and Adolescents: A view from PCSK9 Forum Editors
Gerald F Watts, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia Heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH, inherited high cholesterol) starts as an asymptomatic disorder characterized by markedly elevated LDL cholesterol levels and untreated leads to accelerated atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Typically, individuals may be only diagnosed in the…
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UK Paediatric FH register: LDL-C and family history drives diagnosis
Preliminary data from this register, including the largest group of UK children with a clinical diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH, inherited high cholesterol), show that a strong family history of coronary heart disease (CHD) and elevated LDL cholesterol levels primarily drive treatment decisions. Professor Gerald…
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ACC 2016: Late Breaker underscores the value of genetic testing in ascertaining coronary risk in FH
A key paper for the familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH, inherited high cholesterol) community was presented at the clinical Latebreaker session. According to PCSK9 Forum Board member, Professor Gerald Watts, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia, the paper by Khera and co-workers not only confirms the higher…
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Finding FH: the USA needs to do better
PCSK9 Forum interviewed Professor Gerald Watts, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia and Dr Peter Lansberg, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands about the implications of the USA study estimating FH prevalence, reported in News (1): Familial hypercholesterolaemia affects 1 in 250 people in USA…
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Missed opportunities for FH detection
Consistent with findings previously reported from the EUROASPIRE IV study (1), this report from Australia also highlighted a high prevalence of likely FH in patients aged less than 60 years admitted to the coronary care unit. In 175 coronary care patients aged less 60 years, about…
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Implications from TESLA and early TAUSSIG studies with evolocumab
Results of clinical trials of the investigational therapy – evolocumab, a PCSK9 inhibitor will potentially change care of patients at a high risk of cardiovascular disease (heart attacks), by reducing their very high low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels.
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Professor Gerald Watts discusses the 10 countries project in FH
The International Atherosclerosis Society has begun a study in Asia and the Pacific Rim to provide the first comprehensive investigation of the worlds commonest genetic disorder, familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) in the region. FH results in very high levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and…
read more »Implications from TESLA and early TAUSSIG studies with evolocumab
Results of clinical trials of the investigational therapy – evolocumab, a PCSK9 inhibitor will potentially change care of patients at a high risk of cardiovascular disease (heart attacks), by reducing their very high low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. The Forum talks to Professor Gerald…
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Rising to the Challenge: Implementing Models of Care in FH
Winthrop Professor Gerald F. Watts DSc PhD MD FRACP FRCP, Lipid Disorders Clinic, Cardiovascular Medicine, Royal Perth Hospital School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia. GPO Box X2213, Perth, WA 6847, Australia; E-mail: [email protected] While several guidelines, mostly based on expert opinion, have…
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