SIMVASTATIN VS. PRAVASTATIN FOR HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA

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SIMVASTATIN VS. PRAVASTATIN FOR HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA.

Coenzyme A reductase inhibitors are the preferred treatment for hypercholesterolemia because they are potent cholesterol-lowering agents and have a good safety profile. This multicenter trial compares two such agents, simvastatin and pravastatin.

Researchers randomized 550 adults with primary hypercholesterolemia in 11 countries to receive 10 mg daily of either drug, titrated at 6-week intervals to a maximum of 40 mg daily. All patients also followed a lipid-lowering diet. After 18 weeks, patients given simvastatin had significantly lower total, LDL, and VLDL cholesterol levels, lower triglycerides, and higher HDL cholesterol levels than those who took pravastatin. In addition, more simvastatin- than pravastatin-treated patients achieved the target LDL cholesterol level of less than 130 mg/dl (65 percent vs. 39 percent). Side effects, including sleep disturbances, did not differ between the two groups, and led less than 2 percent of patients to withdraw from the study.

This large trial suggests that simvastatin is equally safe and more effective than pravastatin in lowering cholesterol and raising HDL cholesterol in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia.

— CDM

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine July 2, 1993

Citation(s):

The Simvastatin Pravastatin Study Group. Comparison of the efficacy, safety and tolerability of simvastatin and pravastatin for hypercholesterolemia. Am J Cardiol 1993 Jun 15 71 1408-1414.

Medline abstract (Free)

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Simvastatin
Joan Jenkins, 14 Jun 2010 2:04 PM EST
There are many cases of people suffering muscle pain/cramps caused by simvastatin use over a period of time. The higher... [more]

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