Probucol treatment has been evaluated in 140 patients with
hypercholesterolemia attending a single
Lipid Clinic, in an attempt to identify the relations between
lipid/
lipoprotein responses and patient characteristics.
Probucol was administered as a single
drug at the standard dose (0.5 g
tablets b.i.d.) for at least 6 months. One-hundred (71%) patients displayed a reduction of
low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (
LDL-C), which was significantly correlated with the baseline
LDL-C level (r = 0.64; p < 0.0001). Most of the patients (90%) also responded with a reduction of
high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C); the HDL-C reduction was also directly related to baseline HDL cholesterolemia (r = 0.67, p < 0.0001). A highly significant correlation was found between the individual
LDL-C and HDL-C responses. Eleven patients who continued with
probucol treatment had a B-mode ultrasonographic investigation performed at baseline and after 24 months. No changes in carotid mean and maximal intimal-medial thickness were recorded, in contrast to an increase (i.e., indicative of
atherosclerosis progression) in matched patients with
hypercholesterolemia receiving other
lipid-lowering regimens. Our report underlines that
probucol can still provide a valuable option for the treatment for
hypercholesterolemia, being particularly effective in patients with a combined increase of
LDL-C and HDL-C levels.