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Item
#2
Mediterranean Diet Improves
Lipid-Lowering Effect of Simvastatin
A
Mediterranean diet enhances simvastatin therapy and counteracts
the increase in fasting insulin levels
The
findings come from a randomized crossover trial, reported by Dr.
Antti Jula from the Research and Development Center of the Social
Insurance Institution, Turku, Finland, and associates, in the
February 6th issue of the Journal of the American Medical
Association.
The
study showed: Among
hypercholesterolemic men, a modified Mediterranean diet enhances
simvastatin therapy and counteracts the increase in fasting
insulin levels seen with simvastatin therapy, which is linked with
simvastatin use.
After
a 4 to 6 week placebo run-in period, 120 hypercholesterolemic men,
35 to 64 years of age, who had never been treated, were randomized
to a usual diet or to dietary treatment in a crossover fashion.
Each treatment period lasted 12 weeks. The men in each group were
further randomized to 20 mg/day simvastatin or placebo.
The
treatment diet reduced the intake of saturated and
trans-unsaturated fats to no more than 10%. These fats were
replaced with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats rich in
omega-3 fatty acids. The diet also included an increased intake of
fruits, vegetables and fiber.
Diet
modification and simvastatin had the expected salutary effect on
serum lipids and other parameters. For example, with diet therapy,
total cholesterol was reduced by a mean of 7.6% (p < 0.001),
LDL cholesterol by 10.8% (p < 0.001), and serum insulin by
14.0% (p = 0.02). Simvastatin alone reduced total cholesterol by
20.8% and LDL cholesterol by 29.7%, and increased serum insulin by
13.2% (p = 0.005), Finnish team notes.
"The
effects of dietary treatment and simvastatin were independent and
additive," they add.
Dr.
Jula and colleagues comment that the dual approach to lowering
cholesterol Is "clinically sound, and the importance of diet
as an integral part of statin treatment of hypercholesterolemic
patients should be emphasized."
JAMA
2002;287:598-605.
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Did
You Know?
Diabetes
goes unrecorded on death certificates because many people who have
diabetes will die without ever having been diagnosed with the
disease.
Source
Diabetes 2001: vital Stats Pg. 75
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