04/05/2002
By Mark Greener
Combining a statin with oral estrogen may maximise any cardiovascular benefits in postmenopausal women.
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors – statin lipid lowering drugs – reduce the risk of cardiovascular events through several mechanisms, including countering inflammation in arteries. On the other hand, oral estrogen increases levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation, in postmenopausal women. The resulting inflammation and thrombosis could negate estrogen's benefits on cardiovascular risk.
Against this background, researchers from the Gachon Medical College, Inchon, South Korea and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, United States, enrolled 28 postmenopausal women, with average concentrations of Low Density Lipoprotein of 163 mg/dL. During the three arm cross-over study women received with conjugated equine estrogens 0.625 mg daily, simvastatin 10 mg or the drugs combined. Treatment lasted six weeks in each arm. Each treatment period was separated by six weeks.
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