Pravastatin sodium, a new HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor.
The rate-limiting step in cholesterol biosynthesis is controlled by the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase. Inhibitors of this enzyme lower serum cholesterol very efficiently by increasing cellular uptake of cholesterol-rich, low-density lipoproteins. Pravastatin, a derivative of mevastatin and in the same class as lovastatin, lowers total cholesterol concentrations by 20-30 percent in patients with hypercholesterolemia. In patients who also have hypertriglyceridemia, serum triglyceride levels are decreased. Detailed pharmacokinetic data and long-term adverse-effect experience with pravastatin are extremely limited. The issue of tissue-selectivity for pravastatin has given rise to the marketing terminology "second-generation" HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, but any clinical advantage of pravastatin over other HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors remains to be demonstrated.
School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599.
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D000818:Animals; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy; D017035:Pravastatin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D017035:Pravastatin