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Liraglutide treatment for weight management is not associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events, according to a study published online Sept. 26 in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. Melanie J. Davies, M.D., from the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted post hoc analysis using data from 5,908 participants in five randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials of liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist approved for weight management, in order to assess cardiovascular risk. The researchers found that with liraglutide (3.0 mg), eight participants had positively adjudicated cardiovascular events (1.54 events/1,000 person-years), compared to 10 participants in the comparators group (3.65 events/1000 person-years). Compared to the non-liraglutide group, the hazard ratio for 3.0 mg liraglutide treatment was 0.42 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.17 to 1.08).

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplementation is associated with an increase in serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration, according to a review and meta-analysis published online May 29 in Cardiovascular Therapeutics. Mohsen Mazidi, Ph.D., from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the impact of CLA supplementation on serum CRP. Data were included from 14 studies. The researchers found that following supplementation with CLAs there was a significant increase in serum CRP concentrations (weighted mean difference, 0.63 mg/dL; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.13 to 1.13; heterogeneity P = 0.026); these findings were robust in sensitivity analyses. The changes in serum CRP levels were found to be independent of CLA supplementation dosage (slope, −0.02; 95 percent confidence interval, −0.10 to 0.12; P = 0.889) or follow-up duration (slope, 0.271; 95 percent confidence interval, −0.05 to 0.59; P = 0.098). "This meta-analysis suggests that CLA supplementation is associated with an increase in plasma CRP concentrations and a reduction in serum adiponectin concentrations, which indicates that CLA supplements have a pro-inflammatory effect," the authors write.