• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.327-335
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• 2017

Objective: The goal of this preclinical study was to compare the dyslipidemic effect of pravastatin with that of herbal medicine in rats. Methods: In total, 40 rats were divided into 4 groups: Normal (10 rats), Control (10 rats), Statin alone (10 rats), and the MO-PM-S group (10 rats), which was given the powder of the cortex of Magnolia officinalis Rehd. et Wils., the root of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb, and pravastatin. The Control group, the Statin alone group, and the MO-PM-S group were all given a high-fat (45%) diet that made them obese. After 2 weeks of drug administration, the dyslipidemic effect of pravastatin was compared with that of herbal medicine in rats by analyzing the lipid profiles, measuring the body weights, and taking biopsies (liver, aorta). Results: The herbal medicine and the statin complex group got a much lower TG level and a slightly higher HDL-cholesterol level than the other groups. However, it got a higher total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol level than the other groups. In biopsies, 30% of the Statin alone group and 10% of the MO-PM-S group showed mild histopathologic findings in the liver. Conclusion: The cortex of the Magnolia officinalis Rehd. et Wils. and the root of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb have dyslipidemic effects from the perspective of a TG level and HDL-cholesterol. However, the herbal mixture has a raising effect on both the LDL-cholesterol and the total cholesterol levels. Therefore, we cannot conclude that the herbal mixture helps to prevent dyslipidemia. In liver biopsies, the group administered with both the herbal mixture and the statin showed less histopathologic findings than the group administered with statin alone. This means that the herbal mixture helps to prevent fatty degeneration of the liver.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.293-299
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• 2018

Background: 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) effectively reduce serum levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and total cholesterol. High-intensity statins are recommended for all patients aged ${\leq}75$ with clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), diabetes mellitus aged 40-75 with ${\geq}7.5%$ estimated 10-year ASCVD risk and LDL-C ${\geq}190mg/dL$. High-intensity statins associated with more frequent adverse events (AEs) compared to moderate- to low-intensity statins. The aim of this study was to compare AEs between high-intensity and moderate- to low-intensity statin group using the Korea Adverse Event Reporting System (KAERS) database. Methods: Adults (${\geq}18years$) with statin-associated AEs from July 2009-June 2014 were included. Only AEs classified as "certain", "probable" and "possible" based on the WHO-Uppsala Monitoring Center criteria were analyzed. Results: In total, 247 AEs from 196 patients [high-intensity statin group (HG), n = 25 (13%); moderate- to low-intensity statin group (MLG), n = 171 (87%)] were included. Mean age was higher in HG compared with MLG ($67{\pm}14$ vs $62{\pm}12$). The HG showed a significant higher frequency of liver/biliary system disorders (37% vs 14%, p = 0.001). Hepatic function abnormal was reported more frequently in HG compared to MLG (26% vs 9%, p = 0.006). Conclusion: According to KAERS data, liver/biliary system disorders were more frequently reported in HG compared to MLG.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.278-284
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• 2021

Background: Osteoporosis is a disease that affects the quality of life and imposes a high socioeconomic burden. Studies have reported that statins, a HMG CoA reductase inhibitor, have a positive or negative effect on osteoporosis. The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlation between statins and osteoporosis risk. Methods: We used the total patient sample data of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA-NPS-2018). We analyzed the prevalence of osteoporosis in adult patients of Korea who were diagnosed with dyslipidemia and were prescribed statins at the same time. The odds ratio (OR) according to the intensity and type of statin was used to confirming the prevalence. Results: Among the 1,138,899 patients included in the study, 143,895 patients used statins and 27,524 patients (19.13%) were diagnosed with osteoporosis in the statin group. The OR value of statin group was 0.96 (95% CI 0.94-0.98), confirming that the prevalence of osteoporosis decreased, and a significant decrease was seen in all statin intensity. Some of the moderate-intensity statins rather increased the prevalence of osteoporosis, but atorvastatin and rosuvastatin obtained positive results at both medium- and high-intensity doses, and lovastatin, a low-intensity statin, showed the greatest reduction in the prevalence of osteoporosis. Conclusion: We found that the prevalence of osteoporosis was reduced in the statin group, and there was a constant correlation regardless of gender or age. However, a large, prospective, double-blind and randomized study is needed for a long period of time to demonstrate the effectiveness of statins.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2017

Background: Generic medications are approved on the basis of bioequivalence with brand medications in healthy volunteers rather than the target population, there remains a substantial uncertainty regarding their clinical effectiveness and safety. The object of this paper is to compare the clinical equivalence of generic statin drugs in patients. Methods: Literature published before September 2016, which is indexed in PubMed, EMBASE, RISS, comparing generic to brand products in statins. Outcomes included blood lipid level, proportion of days covered (adherence), hospitalization and mortality. Results: 511 citations were screened, of which 11 studies met eligibility criteria (6 randomized clinical trials, 5 observational studies). Generic atorvastatin was clinical equivalent with brand drugs in blood lipid level (3 RCTs) and generic simvastatin was also clinical equivalent with brand drugs (2 RCTs). 2 of 3 studies reported no significant difference in proportion of days covered except 1 study which reported generic statin significantly enhance proportion of days covered (p<0.001). Hospitalization was no significant difference in all studies (p>0.05). 1 study reported that all cause of mortality was significantly low in generic drugs (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Published data on comparing clinical efficacy of generic and brand statins were insufficient in both quantity and quality. This systematic review suggests that additional studies on clinical equivalence and safety of generic medications in patients would be needed.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.171-177
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• 2016

Statins, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, are known to cause serious muscle injuries (e.g. myopathy, myositis and rhabdomyolysis), and these adverse effects can be rescued by co-administration of coenzyme $Q_{10}$ ($CoQ_{10}$) with statins. The goal of the current research is to assess the efficacy of combined treatment of $CoQ_{10}$ with Atorvastatin for hyperlipidemia induced by high-fat diet in SD rats. 4-week-old Sprague-Dawley male rats were fed normal diet or high-fat diet for 6 weeks. Then, rats were treated with either Statin or Statin with various dosages of $CoQ_{10}$ (30, 90 or 270 mg/kg/day, p.o.) for another 6 weeks. Compared to Statin only treatment, $CoQ_{10}$ supplementation significantly reduced creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase levels in serum which are markers for myopathy. Moreover, $CoQ_{10}$ supplementation with Statin further reduced total fat, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. In contrast, the levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and $CoQ_{10}$ were increased in the $CoQ_{10}$ co-treated group. These results indicate that $CoQ_{10}$ treatment not only reduces the side effects of Statin, but also has an anti-obesity effect. Therefore an intake of supplementary $CoQ_{10}$ is helpful for solving problem of obese metabolism, so the multiple prescription of $CoQ_{10}$ makes us think a possibility that can be solved in being contiguous to the obesity problem, a sort of disease of the obese metabolism.

• Journal of Lipid and Atherosclerosis
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.77-87
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• 2018

Lowering serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is the mainstay for reduction of risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the second most common cause of death in Korea. The 2015 Korean guidelines for management of dyslipidemia strongly recommend the use of statins in patients at risk of CVD. Statin therapy, which is the gold standard for CVD, reduces LDL-C level by 40% to 60% and is generally well tolerated. However, many patients are intolerant to statins and discontinue therapy or become nonadherent to therapy because of actual/perceived side effects. The most common of these side effects is the statin-associated muscle symptom (SAMS). Discontinuation and repetitive re-challenge with statins can help identify SAMS. If serum creatinine kinase level is more than 10 times the upper limit of normal, statin therapy must be stopped immediately, and the physician should identify possible causes including rhabdomyolysis and treat appropriately. In other patients, it might help to switch to a less potent statin or to use statins at intermittent non-daily dosing. To achieve target LDL-C level, non-statin lipid-lowering therapies such as dietary modifications, ezetimibe, and bile acid sequestrants may be added. Several new drugs have recently been approved for lowering LDL-C level. Alirocumab and evolocumab are monoclonal antibodies that inhibit proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9, and both drugs cause large reductions in LDL-C, similar to statins. Lomitapide and mipomersen are orphan drugs used as adjuncts to other lipid-lowering therapies in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.320-332
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• 2018

Background: This study was performed to clarify the effect of SLCO1B1 T521C on statin-induced myotoxicity. Methods: The PubMed, Embase, Ovid, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for all published studies between database inception and April 2018. Using Review Manager 5, the pooled odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were determined to assess the effect of SLCO1B1 T521C on statin-induced myotoxicity by using different genetic models. Results: Eleven observational studies and one randomized controlled trial were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled analysis showed that the incidence of statin-induced myotoxicity was significantly associated with the SLCO1B1 521C variant allele. Among patients using statins, the incidence of myotoxicity was higher in those carrying the 521TC or 521CC variant than in those carrying the 521TT variant in the dominant model (TC + CC vs TT, OR: 1.57; 95% CI: 1.20, 2.05; p = 0.001). The 521TC genotype was associated with a higher risk of myotoxicity than the 521TT genotype (OR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.09, 1.86; p = 0.009). Furthermore, the incidence of myotoxicity was higher in 521CC carriers than in 521TC carriers (OR: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.83; p = 0.02) and noticeably higher in 521CC carriers than in 521TT carriers (OR: 2.26; 95% CI: 1.23, 4.17; p = 0.009). Conclusion: The identification of individuals with the SLCO1B1 521C variant allele prior to the initiation of statin therapy might be useful to predict the risk of toxicity development, determine the individual dose, and prevent myotoxicity.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.1027-1041
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• 2017

Hyperlipidemia, the status of blood with high level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), is known as a main cause of coronary artery diseases such as myocardiac infarction or brain infarct. Statin is the representative prescription to hyperlipidemia and the effects of it depend on the patient's individual conditions such as health-caring habits or adherence to medication. The main effect of statin is reducing LDL-C, which should reach the target range based on National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) guideline. In this research, the reduction of LDL-C and attainment to patient's target range are considered effects of statin. The association between factors - individual conditions and adherence to medication of patients - and the effects of statin is analyzed with National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC).

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.254-266
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• 2019

Background: Patients with cardiovascular risks are recommended to use statins and antiplatelet agents to prevent major cerebro-cardiovascular events (MACCE). Antiplatelet agents also possess anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, in addition to their inhibitory activity on platelets. The differences in clinical outcomes in ischemic heart disease (IHD) based on the type of antiplatelet therapy combined with statin treatment were investigated in this study. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using electronic medical records of IHD patients from January 2010 to December 2014 at Ajou University Hospital. Patients on combination therapy of antiplatelet drugs and statins were grouped based on antiplatelet drug types: clopidogrel, cilostazol, or sarpogrelate. Propensity score matching was applied to balance the baseline of the groups of clopidogrel vs. cilostazol and the groups of clopidogrel vs. sarpogrelate. The incidence and risk of MACCE as primary outcomes were assessed between the groups of antiplatelet drugs. Results: Among the approximately 128,500 patients with IHD, 1,049 patients had taken a combination therapy of statin and antiplatelet agents. The cohorts of patients administered clopidogrel, cilostazol, or sarpogrelate were 906, 79, and 64, respectively. The incidence of MACCE was not significantly different among the cohorts (p=0.58), and there were no differences between clopidogrel vs. cilostazol (p=0.72) or clopidogrel vs. sarpogrelate (p=1.00) after propensity score matching. Conclusion: There was no difference in the incidence of MACCE based on the type of antiplatelet drug (clopidogrel, cilostazol, or sarpogrelate) in combination with a statin in patients with IHD.

• Journal of Lipid and Atherosclerosis
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.61-77
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• 2016

Objective: This study aims to analyze cost-effectiveness of two most-commonly used statins from the perspective of the Korean national health system. Methods: The scope of the analysis included rosuvastatin (5 mg, 10 mg, and 20 mg) and atorvastatin (10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg, and 80 mg). Effectiveness was defined as percentage (%) and absolute (mg/dL) reductions of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) from the baseline. They were derived from published randomized controlled studies for rosuvastatin and atorvastatin. Effectiveness was defined as reductions in LDL-C levels per mg dose of the drugs. The annual direct medical costs including drug acquisition costs and monitoring costs over the one-year time horizon were calculated for each alternative. The average cost-effectiveness ratios (ACERs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) for each statin dose were calculated. Results: The ACERs for all doses of rosuvastatin (5 mg, 10 mg, and 20 mg) were lower than those for all doses of atorvastatin (10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg, and 80 mg). Rosuvastatin 10 mg was the most cost-effective statin for LDL-C reduction. In cost-effectiveness analyses for corresponding doses of rosuvastatin and atorvastatin, rosuvastatin was the superior strategy which suggests both higher effectiveness and lower costs than atorvastatin. However, we have to consider this analysis is highly influenced by current price of statins in each market. Conclusion: For reduction of LDL-C levels in Korean patients with dyslipidemia, rosuvastatin 10mg is the most cost-effective statin in the current Korean market.