Lovastatin, Pravastatin, and Serum Lipoprotein(a)

Excerpt

To the Editor: Genetically determined high concentrations of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] have been strongly associated with premature cardiovascular disease (1), myocardial infarction (2), and cerebrovascular disease (3) in men. Until now, none of the classic hypolipidemic drugs has clearly been shown to influence this risk factor (4). There are controversial findings regarding the new class of HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl

coenzymeA) reductase inhibitors. Berg and Leren (5) reported unchanged serum Lp(a) concentrations in 30 patients with familial hypercholesterolemia treated with lovastatin, whereas Jürgens and colleagues (6) found an increased Lp(a) level during treatment with lovastatin in 8 patients. We therefore studied the effect