Prolonged-release nicotinic acid for the management of dyslipidemia: an update including results from the NAUTILUS study

Low HDL-cholesterol (<1.02 mmol/L [40 mg/dL] in men or <1.29 mmol/L [50 mg/dL] in women) occurs in about one-third of European patients with dyslipidemia and is an independent cardiovascular risk factor. Simultaneous correction of low HDL-cholesterol and high total-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol may provide reductions in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality beyond those possible with statins alone. Nicotinic acid (niacin in the US) is the most effective means of increasing HDL-cholesterol available and has been shown to reduce cardiovascular event rates significantly. Niaspan(®) (prolonged-release nicotinic acid) provides a convenient, once-daily means of administering nicotinic acid. Clinical studies with Niaspan(®) have demonstrated marked, long-term increases in HDL-cholesterol with additional useful benefits on triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, and lipid sub-profiles. The NAUTILUS study demonstrated the beneficial efficacy and tolerability profiles of Niaspan(®) in a usual-care setting. The most common side-effect of Niaspan(®) is flushing, which infrequently causes treatment discontinuation and which usually subsides over continued treatment. The ARBITER 2 and ARBITER 3 studies showed 1–2 years of treatment with Niaspan(®) plus a statin induced regression of atherosclerosis in patients with coronary artery disease. The effect of Niaspan(®)-statin treatment, relative to a statin alone, on clinical cardiovascular outcomes is currently under evaluation. Niaspan(®) represents a practical means of correcting low HDL-cholesterol, an independent risk factor for adverse cardiovascular outcomes.