Efficacy and safety of cerivastatin and pravastatin in the treatment of primary hypercholesterolemia

In this randomized, double-blind, parallel group study, the efficacy and sa fety of cerivastatin (0.3 mg) and pravastatin (20 mg) were compared in 402 patients with primary hypercholesterolemia with and without documented coro nary heart disease or peripheral vascular disease. After 8 weeks of treatme nt, cerivastatin provided significantly greater reductions than pravastatin in low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol (31.1% vs. 26.0%; p < 0.0001) and total cholesterol (21.1% vs. 17.8%; p < 0.0001). A greater proportion of patients treated with cerivastatin than pravastatin achieved > 30% and > 40% reductions from baseline in LDL-cholesterol. Both agents also increase d high density lipoprotein-cholesterol and reduced triglycerides. Overall, 65.1% of patients treated with cerivastatin and 63.3% of patients with prav astatin achieved LDL-cholesterol goals defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program. Both drugs were well tolerated, with most adverse events being mild. These results demonstrate that cerivastatin (0.3 mg) is a high ly effective 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitor, whi ch enables a large proportion of patients to achieve clinically meaningful reductions in LDL-cholesterol.