Tag Archives: ACCELERATE

Lowering LDL-cholesterol: we need to do better It is essential that high-risk patients attain the recommended low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol target. As reported at the first late-breaking session, the choice and dose of statin are key factors influencing LDL-cholesterol lowering. In a meta-analysis of the VOYAGER (Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis of Statin Therapy in At-risk Groups: Effects of Rosuvastatin, Atorvastatin and Simvastatin) database of 37 studies of high-intensity statins, 71% of patients treated with rosuvastatin 40 mg achieved at least 50% reduction in LDL-cholesterol levels, compared with 59% for atorvastatin 8

The trial, published online in The Lancet on January 12th 2011, also shows that patients who added in another drug at a later stage improved their response over monotherapy, but not to the same level as those who had begun with combination therapy. The authors, led by Dr Morris J Brown (University of Cambridge), say they hope the results “will reassure physicians and guideline committees of the safety of even full-dose initial combination and lead to the preference of this option in view of early and sustained superiority”. In an accompanying comment piece, Drs Ivana Lazich and George Bakris (University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medic