Posted on 11/21/2009 9:06:11 PM PST by neverdem
The findings led to an early halt of a small study comparing Niaspan and Zetia, two compounds commonly used along with statins to reduce heart attack risk
ORLANDO, Fla. — Adding a pharmaceutical form of the B vitamin niacin — but not the drug ezetimibe — to a cholesterol-lowering statin drug appears to reduce artery plaque buildup in patients with coronary artery disease, according to much-anticipated results announced at a press conference November 15.
The results were from a study that was relatively small — only 208 patients — but provided a head-to-head comparison of niacin and ezetimibe, known by the brand name Zetia. Despite studies last year that questioned its effectiveness, Zetia remains a blockbuster drug for Merck & Co. Inc. The form of niacin used in the study is an extended-release, prescription-only formulation of niacin called Niaspan, made by Abbott, which funded the new trial.
The new findings were simultaneously published online by the New England Journal of Medicine and presented during the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2009. Niacin has been shown to raise levels of HDL, the type of cholesterol that protects against heart disease. Zetia is designed to work differently, by lowering levels of LDL, the cholesterol that contributes to heart disease. Niacin also lowers LDL, but is better known for raising HDL. Zetia’s performance fell flat in two recent trials, leading many doctors to question its usefulness.
For the new study, researchers enrolled 363 patients from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, Md. The patients were randomly assigned to take their prescribed statin drug with the addition of either Niaspan or Zetia. The drugs’ effects were gauged by measuring plaque buildup in each participant’s carotid arteries.
Investigators stopped the study in June when it became...
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencenews.org ...
BTTT
Bump for later
Good post!
BUMP!
I thought taking niacin with statins was a no-no?
If you value your brain (assuming you have one of course), stay off statins !
I wonder if I could take niacin. My gastro dr says to stay away from vit B because of the hep C & my liver. Maybe I should look into it.
Since when is a vitamin a drug?!
bttt
Despite a few case reports of myopathy associated with niacin-statin (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor) combination therapy, 2 decades of clinical evidence since the introduction of statins do not support a general myopathic effect of niacin either alone or in combination with statins.
From a ScienceDirect abstract
The disturbing thing is the notion that a vitamin is a drug.
I hope that you will check with your doctor first. He/She will know better than a post on the Internet.
Yes I will. I’ve learned it is better to tell him what I plan on doing. However he told me not to waste my money on mesosilver & now says he can’t believe the results. Antibiotics are wrecking my liver but since I picked up MRSA in the hospital I have no choice but to take them when it comes back.
When it's processed according to U.S. Pharmacopeia standards in an extended release formula, IIRC.
I don’t know about that at all. My arteries should be clearing up pretty good though. I’ve been taking those 5-Hour Energy drinks a couple of times a week. Tons of Vit B-12, B-6 and niacin. YOU had better ask your doctor.
bookmark
Plant sterols (block the dietary uptake of cholesterol?)
Niacin
Policasonal
Vitamin C, Lysine, Proline,
Fish oil
These are all natural solutions. As such, they can not be patented. A patent is a temporary monopoly granted and enforced by the Government. A monopoly can charge high, sometimes very high, prices. Natural products cannot be patented and are subject to fierce competition that drives the price way down.
Artificial, man-made products can be patented. As monopoly products, they can charge the high prices that is needed to pay for expensive testing and FDA review process.
Although natural products may more effective and have fewer (or no) side-effects, they cannot generate the revenue stream of patent drugs. The revenue stream of the patent drug makers pay for testing, jumping through FDA hoops, greasing the skids in Congress, advertising, a constant stream of customer sales representatives in Doctors’ offices, etc.
Although natural solutions are probably better/cheaper, they are marginalized and are just one step away from being declared quackery.
I better is right while I have my drs. Both will retire if 0care passes. Then I really going to be f-ed. I will have to treat myself.
I had a big problem with statins.
BS! Over-the-counter niacin is as good or better than the prescription Niaspan. And, of course, cheaper.
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