LONG-TERM VITAMIN-A DOES NOT PRODUCE CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT HYPERTRIGLYCERIDEMIA - RESULTS FROM CARET, THE BETA-CAROTENE AND RETINOL EFFICACY TRIAL

Retinol and retinyl palmitate in the moderate doses tested in chemopre vention trials produce only a negligible increase in serum triglycerid e levels. The effect is nonprogressive and is not associated with the kind of exaggerated response reported for interacting factors such as presence of diabetes mellitus and/or high baseline values for serum tr iglyceride concentration. These findings seem to represent an advantag e for safety of retinol in relation to isotretinoin (13-cis-retinoic a cid).