Abstract
Objective: Study was planned to examine the effects of Niacin (Vitamin B-3) on serum LDLCholesterol levels
Design: Single blind placebo controlled study.
Place and duration of study: Study was conducted at department of Pharmacology, Basic Medical Sciences Institute (BMSI), Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi, from January 2002 to July 2002
Patient and methods: Forty hyperlipidemic patients were included, among which 20 patients were on placebo as control group, and 20 were on tablet Niacin, 2 gram daily, in divided doses for the period of three months. Patients with diabetes mellitus, peptic ulcer, renal disease, hepatic disease, hypothyroidism and alcoholism were excluded from the study. Serum LDL-cholesterol was calculated by Friedwald formula(LDL-Cholesterol = Total Cholesterol-(Triglycerides/5 +HDL-Cholesterol) escribed by Delong et al (1986) and Beamount et al (1970). Data were expressed as the mean +/- SD and "t" test was applied to determine statistical significance as the difference. A probability value of <0.05 was the limit of significance.
Results: Three patients were dropped from the study due to side effects of Niacin. Niacin has decreased the levels of LDL-Cholesterol from182.58 +/- 8.74 mg/dl to 119.29 +/- 4.08 mg/dl, which was highly significant (P<0.001), when compared statistically by paired "t" test. Overall percentage (%) changes from day-0 to day-90 were -34.66
Conclusion: Finally we concluded from this study that Niacin decreases the risk of CHD by decreasing LDL-Cholesterol