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Original Article
Volume 345:1583-1592 November 29, 2001 Number 22
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Simvastatin and Niacin, Antioxidant Vitamins, or the Combination for the Prevention of Coronary Disease
B. Greg Brown, M.D., Ph.D., Xue-Qiao Zhao, M.D., Alan Chait, M.D., Lloyd D. Fisher, Ph.D., Marian C. Cheung, Ph.D., Josh S. Morse, B.S., Alice A. Dowdy, R.D., Emily K. Marino, M.S., Edward L. Bolson, M.S., Petar Alaupovic, Ph.D., Jiri Frohlich, M.D., Leny Serafini, B.S., Ellen Huss-Frechette, B.S., Shari Wang, B.S., Debbie DeAngelis, R.T., Arthur Dodek, M.D., and John J. Albers, Ph.D.

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ABSTRACT

Background Both lipid-modifying therapy and antioxidant vitamins are thought to have benefit in patients with coronary disease. We studied simvastatin–niacin and antioxidant-vitamin therapy, alone and together, for cardiovascular protection in patients with coronary disease and low plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

Methods In a three-year, double-blind trial, 160 patients with coronary disease, low HDL cholesterol levels, and normal low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels were randomly assigned to receive one of four regimens: simvastatin plus niacin, antioxidants, simvastatin–niacin plus antioxidants, or placebos. The end points were arteriographic evidence of a change in coronary stenosis and the occurrence of a first cardiovascular event (death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or revascularization).

Results The mean levels of LDL and HDL cholesterol were unaltered in the antioxidant group and the placebo group; these levels changed substantially (by –42 percent and +26 percent, respectively) in the simvastatin–niacin group. The protective increase in HDL2 with simvastatin plus niacin was attenuated by concurrent therapy with antioxidants. The average stenosis progressed by 3.9 percent with placebos, 1.8 percent with antioxidants (P=0.16 for the comparison with the placebo group), and 0.7 percent with simvastatin–niacin plus antioxidants (P=0.004) and regressed by 0.4 percent with simvastatin–niacin alone (P<0.001). The frequency of the clinical end point was 24 percent with placebos, 3 percent with simvastatin–niacin alone, 21 percent in the antioxidant-therapy group, and 14 percent in the group given simvastatin–niacin plus antioxidants.

Conclusions Simvastatin plus niacin provides marked clinical and angiographically measurable benefits in patients with coronary disease and low HDL levels. The use of antioxidant vitamins in this setting must be questioned.


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From the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology (B.G.B., X.-Q.Z., J.S.M., E.L.B.), the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Nutrition (A.C., M.C.C., A.A.D., J.J.A.), and the Department of Biostatistics (L.D.F., E.K.M.), University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle; the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City (P.A.); and the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (J.F.).

Other authors were Leny Serafini, B.S., Ellen Huss-Frechette, B.S., and Shari Wang, B.S. (Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle); and Debbie DeAngelis, R.T., and Arthur Dodek, M.D. (Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Brown at the Division of Cardiology, Box 356422, Health Sciences Bldg., Rm. A509, University of Washington, 1959 N.E. Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195.

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