Complementary Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine

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