Effects of increasing doses of simvastatin on fasting lipoprotein subfractions, and the effect of high-dose simvastatin on postprandial chylomicron remnant clearance in normotriglyceridemic patients with premature coronary sclerosis.

Postprandial hyperlipidemia has been linked to premature coronary artery disease (CAD) in fasting normotriglyceridemic patients. We investigated the effects of increasing doses of simvastatin up to 80 mg/day on fasting and postprandial lipoprotein metabolism in 18 normotriglyceridemic patients with premature CAD. Fasting lipoprotein subfractions and cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) activity were determined after each 5-week dose titration (0, 20, 40 and 80 mg/day). At baseline and after treatment with simvastatin 80 mg/day, standardised Vitamin A oral fat loading tests (50 g/m2; 10 h) were carried out. Ten normolipidemic healthy control subjects matched for gender, age and BMI underwent tests without medication. Treatment with simvastatin resulted in dose-dependent reductions of fasting LDL-cholesterol, without changing cholesterol levels in the VLDL-1, VLDL-2 and IDL fractions. In addition, simvastatin decreased CETP activity dose-dependently, although HDL-cholesterol remained unchanged. Simvastatin 80 mg/day decreased fasting plasma triglycerides (TG) by 26% (P < 0.05), but did not decrease significantly TG levels in any of the subfractions. The TG/cholesterol ratio increased in all subfractions. The plasma TG response to the oral fat loading test, estimated as area under the curve (TG-AUC), improved by 30% (from 21.5 +/- 2.5 to 15.1 +/- 1.9 mmol h/L; P < 0.01). Treatment with simvastatin 80 mg/day improved chylomicron remnant clearance (RE-AUC) by 36% from 30.0 +/- 2.6 to 19.2 +/- 3.3 mg h/L (P < 0.01). After therapy, remnant clearance in patients was similar to controls (19.2 +/- 3.3 and 20.3 +/- 2.7 mg h/L, respectively), suggesting a normalization of this potentially atherogenic process. In conclusion, high-dose simvastatin has beneficial effects in normotriglyceridemic patients with premature CAD, due to improved chylomicron remnant clearance, besides effective lowering of LDL-cholesterol. In addition, the lipoprotein subfractions became more cholesterol-poor, as reflected by the increased TG/cholesterol ratio, which potentially makes them less atherogenic.

A comparison of the efficacy and tolerability of titrate-to-goal regimens of simvastatin and fluvastatin: a randomized, double-blind study in adult patients at moderate to high risk for cardiovascular disease.

BACKGROUND: Use of cholesterol-lowering regimens has been shown to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), both in primary and secondary prevention. However, there have been few studies of the relative benefits and risks of the various cholesterol-lowering agents in patient groups with specific risk factors for CHD. OBJECTIVE: The primary goal of this study was to compare the proportions of adult patients with primary hypercholesterolemia and a moderate to high risk for CHD achieving National Cholesterol Education Program low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goals with titrate-to-goal regimens of simvastatin and fluvastatin. METHODS: This was a multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study enrolling adult patients with type IIa or IIb primary hypercholesterolemia, LDL-C levels <6.0 mmol/L (<232.0 mg/dL), and triglyceride levels <4.5 mmol/L (<398.6 mg/dL), and either CHD or other atherosclerotic disease (the CHD, or high-risk, group), or multiple risk factors for CHD (the MRF, or moderate-risk, group). After a 6-week washout period, patients were randomized to 18 weeks of treatment at an initial dosage of simvastatin 10 mg once daily or fluvastatin 20 mg once daily. At 6- and 12-week titration visits, the dosage in patients who had not acheived the LDL-C goal could be increased to simvastatin 20 mg once daily and then 40 mg once daily, or to fluvastatin 40 mg once daily and then 40 mg twice daily. Lipid profiles were obtained at each titration visit and at the end of treatment. In addition to the comparison between treatments, secondary comparisons were made between the CHD and MRF subgroups within each treatment group. Statistical significance was assessed using analysis of variance. RESULTS: A total of 478 patients were enrolled, 237 in the simvastatin group and 241 in the fluvastatin group. There were no significant between-group differences in patients' characteristics at baseline. At the end of the study, 60.8% (135/222) of patients in the simvastatin group had reached target LDL-C goals, compared with 35.1% (76/216) in the fluvastatin group (P < 0.001). In the simvastatin CHD and MRF subgroups, 49% and 73%, respectively, reached the LDL-C target, compared with 19% and 50% in the corresponding fluvastatin subgroups (P < 0.001). The proportion of patients requiring titration was higher in the fluvastatin group than in the simvastatin group (87.1% and 64.1%, respectively; P = 0.001). The incidence of adverse events was similar between groups. CONCLUSION: In this study, more patients with primary hypercholesterolemia and CHD or multiple risk factors for CHD reached LDL-C goals with simvastatin treatment and required less titration than those who received fluvastatin treatment.

Incidence of multi-resistant gram-negative isolates in eight Dutch hospitals. The 1990 Dutch Surveillance Study.

Results from 8 Dutch hospitals participating in an international epidemiological surveillance project were analyzed to establish the prevalence of resistant Gram-negative species and to demonstrate the extent of cross-resistance. Overall resistance rates among the 828 isolates tested were lowest with imipenem, ciprofloxacin, amikacin, and tobramycin. Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates exhibited a significant rate of resistance to broad-spectrum beta-lactam antibiotics. Among inducible enteric species, cross-resistance to cephalosporins, penicillins, and monobactams but not to imipenem was prevalent. The addition of clavulanic acid was not found to fully restore the susceptibility of beta-lactam-resistant Escherichia coli isolates and combined cephalosporin and penicillin resistance was also observed in these strains. These data indicated a high though unevenly distributed incidence of resistance and cross-resistance among Gram-negative isolates despite the conservative approach to antibiotic treatment traditionally followed in The Netherlands.

Prevalence and significance of cardiovascular risk factors in a large cohort of patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) vary widely in terms of onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD). DESIGN: The association between cardiovascular risk factors and prevalent CVD was examined in a cross-sectional study in order to elucidate their contribution to atherogenesis. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Patients were recruited from 37 Dutch Lipid Clinics. The diagnosis of FH was based on a uniform diagnostic protocol, confirmed by DNA analysis in 62% of the cases. All patients were investigated free from any lipid-lowering drug for at least 6 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Differences in lipids, lipoproteins and other risk factors for CVD were analysed in FH patients with and without CVD. RESULTS: A total of 526 patients were assessed and more than 37% had a history of CVD with a mean age of onset of 46.8 years. Mean LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were severely elevated (8.38 +/- 2.13 mmol L-1). In univariate analysis, age, presence of hypertension or diabetes, body mass index, triglycerides (TG) and low HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) were all significantly associated with CVD. Also in multivariate analysis, all these risk factors, except TG and diabetes, were significantly linked to CVD. CONCLUSION: A high CVD risk in this large well-documented characterized sample of FH patients is not only conferred by elevated LDL-C but also by low HDL-C.