EFFECT OF GEMFIBROZIL TREATMENT ON FIBRINOLYSIS SYSTEM IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTRIGLYCERIDEMIA

The effect of gemfibrozil on lipidic, coagulative, and fibrinolytic pattern was studied in 20 patients with primary type IV hyperlipoproteinemia. After a 4-week stabilization period during which administration of lipid-lowering drugs was stopped and an isocaloric diet (20% protein, 30% fat, and 50% carbohydrates) was prescribed, 20 patients (12 men and 8 women; mean age, 38 +/- 4 years; body mass index, 23.4 +/- 1.5) suffering from primary hypertriglyceridemia were included in this study and treated for a 12-week period with gemfibrozil (600 mg BID). Every 4 weeks the following parameters were checked: glycemia, triglycerides, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio, apolipoproteins A-I and B, tissue plasminogen activator antigen, plasminogen activator inhibitor activity, fibrinogen, plasminogen, antithrombin III, protein C, factor VII, and inopeptide A. The data obtained suggest that gemfibrozil, in addition to the well established lipid-regulating effect, appears to have a positive role in the regulation of hemostasis and fibrinolytic system.