title: Effects of pravastatin with niacin or magnesium on lipid levels and postprandial lipemia.
abstract: This study was designed to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of 3 different pharmacologic lipid-lowering regimens in the treatment of patients with clustered lipid risk factors. Sixty-five patients with low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels and hypertriglyceridemia were randomized to 1 of 3 treatment arms: pravastatin/niacin, pravastatin/magnesium, or pravastatin/placebo. After 18 weeks, patients in the pravastatin/niacin group had a -41% change in the total cholesterol/HDL ratio compared with -13% in the pravastatin/magnesium arm and -16% in the pravastatin/placebo group. The HDL2 and HDL3 subfractions, as well as the apolipoprotein A-I levels, were increased significantly only in the pravastatin/niacin arm. The levels of small dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (LDL3) were decreased to a greater extent in the pravastatin/niacin arm (-43%) than in either the pravastatin/magnesium (-13%) or the pravastatin/placebo (-20%) arm. Only the pravastatin/niacin regimen significantly diminished postprandial lipemia (-32% change in the remnant particle triglyceride concentration and decreased very-low-density lipoprotein remnant levels). Thus, in this group of patients with clustered risk factors, the combination of pravastatin and niacin resulted in significant improvements in HDL and triglyceride levels, total cholesterol to HDL ratio, small dense LDL levels, and postprandial lipemia. Pravastatin alone or in combination with magnesium resulted in less significant changes that were largely limited to LDL cholesterol reduction.
authors.affiliation: Mid America Heart Institute, St Luke's Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: O'Keefe
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Windsor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016632:Apolipoprotein A-I / Q000097:blood; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004435:Eating; D006801:Humans; D015228:Hypertriglyceridemia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008274:Magnesium / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009525:Niacin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017035:Pravastatin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D016632:Apolipoprotein A-I; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D008055:Lipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D009525:Niacin; D002784:Cholesterol; D008274:Magnesium; D017035:Pravastatin