EFFECT OF TREATMENT WITH A HYDROXYMETHYLGLUTARYL COENZYME-A REDUCTASE INHIBITOR ON FASTING AND POSTPRANDIAL PLASMA-LIPOPROTEINS AND CHOLESTERYL ESTER TRANSFER ACTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH NIDDM

Patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) have a greater risk of developing coronary heart disease than would be expected from a similar degree of hyperlipidemia in nondiabetic populations. Accelerated transfer of cholesteryl esters (CET) from high-density Lipoprotein (HDL) to low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), a process that is associated with atherosclerosis, may be a possible explanation for this. CET, plasma lipoprotein concentration, and mass in the fasting and postprandial state have been examined in 31 hyperlipidemic patients with NIDDM before and after 8 weeks of treatment with the hydroxymethylglutaryl (HMG)-coenzyme A (CoA) reductase inhibitor pravastatin in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group study. Body mass index, glycemic control, and blood pressure remained unaltered during the study period. Compared with placebo, pravastatin decreased fasting serum cholesterol (P < 0.001) and LDL cholesterol (P < 0.002) levels. The high basal CET (34.4 +/- 13.1 nmol . ml(-1). h(-1)) was decreased significantly by pravastatin treatment (27.5 +/- 13.7 nmol . ml(-1). h(-1), P = 0.013). There was a fall in the total cholesterol, free cholesterol, and phospholipid content of the S-f 0-12, 20-60, and 60-400 lipoproteins (all P = 0.001). Lecithin: cholesterol acyl transferase activity was not altered. The postprandial increase in VLDL cholesterol 5 h after a standardized mixed meal was attenuated after pravastatin treatment (P = 0.011). Inhibition of hepatic cholesterol synthesis with an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor in hyperlipidemic patients with NIDDM decreased serum cholesterol and the free cholesterol content of triglyceride-rich lipoprotein, thereby decreasing the transfer of cholesteryl ester from HDL to LDL and VLDL.