Dutch Study Backs Cholesterol Drug for Children

Children suffering from an inherited condition that causes high cholesterol levels have been successfully treated with a statin drug with no adverse impact on their growth, a study said on Tuesday.

Children suffering from an inherited condition that causes high cholesterol levels have been successfully treated with a statin drug with no adverse impact on their growth, a study said on Tuesday. Researchers at the University of Amsterdam who reported the finding said the long-term effectiveness and safety of cholesterol-lowering drugs have not been evaluated in children previously, and the new study offers an extensive look. The drug involved in the study was pravastatin, marketed as Pravachol by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. . The study was paid for by the Dutch government and by a grant from the drug company that had no role in the design and conduct of the research, the authors said. The study involved 214 children, aged 8 to 18, who were recruited between 1997 and 1999 and followed for up for two years. In addition to a fat-restricted diet and encouragement to take part in regular physical activity, half of the children were given daily doses of the drug and half an inert placebo. The children had familial hypercholesterolemia, which causes high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol — so called bad cholesterol. The condition also restricts the blood vessel’s ability to respond to changes in blood flow by expanding or contracting, and causes increased thickness of the wall of the carotid artery. The children who received the drug showed an average 24.1 percent reduction in bad cholesterol levels, while those who received the placebo showed an average 0.3 percent increase, the authors reported. In addition the drug led to toward a lessening of thickness in the carotid artery wall, the report said. But no differences between the two groups were found when it came to growth, maturation, hormone levels or muscle and liver enzymes, the study said.(Source: University of Amsterdam: Reuters Health News: July 2004)