J&J Stent May Be Winner

Researchers tested 100 patients for each of the three remedies. They found that patients receiving either a Taxus or Cypher had much less arterial renarrowing than did patients who simply underwent angioplasty.

They also found that there was a statistically significant difference between the number of Cypher patients (eight of 100) needing to have their arteries unclogged again vs. the number of Taxus patients (19 of 100) needing the procedure.

The researchers said that although this Cypher vs. Taxus comparison was "not part of the primary analysis," the results "suggested that there may be differences" between these stents in their "prevention of recurrences" in patients with a high risk of experiencing reclogged arteries.

The authors noted that "the definitive answer" will come from the J&J-sponsored clinical trial, nicknamed REALITY, which is testing 1,386 patients. In addition to being a much bigger study, REALITY is looking at how well Cypher and Taxus prevent initial reclogging of arteries after the original treatment. REALITY's results will affect more potential patients than the results of the German study.

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