Complementary Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine
Complementary Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine
Complementary Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine
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116 <strong>Alternative</strong> <strong>Cardiovascular</strong> <strong>Medicine</strong><br />
Role in CVD<br />
Although pantethine has no direct cardiovascular effects, it is<br />
believed to be a potent hypolipidemic agent. Gaddi et al. (65) studied the<br />
effect of pantethine (300 mg/3 times a day) in 29 patients with type IIb<br />
and IV hyperlipidemia for 8 wk in a double-blind protocol. Pantethine<br />
caused significant reduction in total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein<br />
(LDL) cholesterol. It also elevated HDL cholesterol. Eto et al.<br />
(66) reported the effects of 9-mo therapy with pantethine in 16 patients<br />
with diabetes. The therapy group showed a significant reduction in<br />
plasma -thromboglobulin, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol,<br />
apo-E, and apo-CII levels. It also reduced platelets aggregability.<br />
CONCLUSION<br />
Some evidence discussed in this chapter suggests a favorable effect<br />
of nutrachemical supplementation in the prevention and treatment of<br />
certain cardiovascular disorders. Large, long-term controlled randomized<br />
studies are needed to evaluate their effect on patients and their<br />
interaction with conventional therapy before clinical use. To date, potential<br />
safety issues have been noted with carnitine in a small clinical trial.<br />
The long-term safety of other nutraceuticals is uncertain, given the<br />
absence of large long-term clinical trials.<br />
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