title: Raising HDL cholesterol with low-dose nicotinic acid and bezafibrate: preliminary experience.
abstract: Nicotinic acid is an effective agent for elevating HDL cholesterol but is limited by side effects. In order to improve tolerance and lipid levels, we combined low-dose nicotinic acid with bezafibrate. We gave low-dose (mean 435 mg/day) nicotinic acid to 37 patients with low HDL cholesterol, bezafibrate (mean 476 mg/day) to 58 patients with elevated total cholesterol and both agents (mean nicotinic acid 435 mg/day and bezafibrate 512 mg/day) to 25 patients with low HDL cholesterol and elevated total cholesterol. A total of 53 additional patients were followed as controls. Three intervals of treatment were studied: 0-6, 6-12 and > 12 months. The combination of drugs resulted in significant (P < 0.05) percentage changes in total cholesterol, triglycerides and total/HDL cholesterol compared to nicotinic acid alone and significant (P < 0.04) percentage changes in HDL cholesterol compared to bezafibrate alone. It is concluded that low doses of nicotinic acid may result in significant changes in HDL cholesterol; when combined with bezafibrate significant alterations in total cholesterol, triglycerides and total/HDL cholesterol also result.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Luria
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sapoznikov
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001629:Bezafibrate / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009525:Niacin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D009525:Niacin; D001629:Bezafibrate