Word: niacin
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...this may be the case. Last year Dr. David Blankenhorn, director of atherosclerosis research at the University of Southern California, reported on a study in which 162 nonsmoking men who had undergone coronary- bypass surgery were put on a low-fat diet; 80 of them were also treated with niacin and colestipol. Among the drug-treated group, HDL levels increased 37%, while LDL decreased 43% and triglycerides went down 22%. Blankenhorn found evidence that arterial disease had been halted in 61% of the drug- treated patients, compared with 39% who were treated by diet alone. Moreover, 16% of the drug...
...blockages in the coronary vessels. ( But the proper treatment has proved elusive. Last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. David Blankenhorn of the University of Southern California reported that patients who were treated with a combination of the anticholesterol drug colestipol and the vitamin niacin showed a marked improvement over those who had maintained a low-fat diet alone...
...while these results are striking, Alderman points out, they are by no means new to the medical community. Earlier research had shown that niacin could produce a marked reduction in incidence of heart attack, and an increase in survival up to 15 years after the patient had stopped taking the drug. However, use of niacin in previous studies had always been hampered by severe side effects, including headaches, flushing, itchiness, rashes, and diarrhea...
...Beth Israel study, this problem was essentially eliminated. Only three patients had persistent side effects which required discontinuation of the therapy. In most other cases, difficulties were avoided by starting with small amounts of niacin and increasing the dosage gradually over a few weeks. Taking aspirin once or twice a day, taking the drug after meals, and using special capsules which release the niacin slowly over the course of a day were also helpful in overcoming some of the side effects. "We wanted to take away niacin's bad name," Alderman said, "and I think this study has succeeded...
...researchers are now planning a much larger experiment, comparing niacin's effects to those of other drugs and to placebos. They also plan to look at how effective niacin is at reducing the incidence of heart attacks, improving performance on stress tests, and slowing the progress of coronary pathology. While emphasizing that the results of the preliminary investigation must be confirmed by further research, Alderman made clear the potential advantages of niacin: "The most popular drug in use today produces side-effects in over 60 percent of the patients who use it, and costs over $100 a month. Niacin...