Lipid-lowering effects of gefarnate in statin-treated patients with residual hypertriglyceridemia:a randomized controlled study

BACKGROUND The prevention of coronary artery disease(CAD)faces dual challenges:the aspirin-induced gastrointestinal injury,and the residual cardiovascular risk after statin treatment.Geraniol acetate(Gefarnate)is an anti-ulcer drug.It was reported that geraniol might participate in lipid metabolism through a variety of pathways.The aim of this study was to assess the lipid-lowering effects of gefarnate in statin-treated CAD patients with residual hypertriglyceridemia.METHODS In this prospective,open-label,randomized,controlled trial,69 statin-treated CAD patients with residual hypertriglyceridemia were randomly assigned to gefarnate group and control group,received gefarnate(100 mg/3 times a day)combined with statin and statin alone,respectively.At baseline and after one-month treatment,the levels of plasma triglyceride,high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)and total cholesterol were tested.RESULTS After one-month gefarnate treatment,triglyceride level was significantly lowered from 2.64 mmol/L to 2.12 mmol/L(P=0.0018),LDL-C level lowered from 2.7 mmol/L to 2.37 mmol/L(P=0.0004),HDL-C level increased from 0.97 mmol/L to 1.17mmol/L(P=0.0228).Based on statin therapy,gefarnate could significantly reduce the plasma triglyceride level(P=0.0148)and increase the plasma HDL-C level(P=0.0307).Although the LDL-C and total cholesterol levels tended to decrease,there was no statistically significant difference.CONCLUSIONS The addition of gefarnate to statin reduced triglyceride level and increased HDL-C level to a significant extent compared to statin alone in CAD patients with residual hypertriglyceridemia.This suggested that gefarnate might provide the dual benefits of preventing gastrointestinal injury and lipid lowering in CAD patients.