Lipids Information and Dyslipidemia Education

BREAKING NEWS: The FCG Institute for Continuing Education launches CVspectrum

APOLLO transitions to the new CVspectrum.org. Please note: all registered user information has been transferred to CVspectrum.org, so log-on and check out the new CVspectrum!

NEW! APOLLO Newsletters

Check out the latest APOLLO Newsletter with articles on HDL, Diet and LDL-C and Clinical Trials Summaries and Commentary! APOLLO Newsletters are certified for AMA, AAFP, CPE, AANP and CNE credit and are endorsed by the NLA

Interview with Dr. Paul Thompson on the Role of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in Statin-Associated Myopathy

Paul D. Thompson, MD

Although serious statin-associated myopathy is rare, muscle-related complaints are generally held to be the most common and clinically significant adverse effects of statin therapy. The mechanism by which statins may affect muscle is unknown, and a number of explanations have been proposed. One theory that has attracted wide interest relates statin-associated muscle complaints to depletion of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). The role of CoQ10 in statin-associated myopathy is the subject of a recently published systematic review by Leo Marcoff and APOLLO Steering Committee member Paul D. Thompson.¹ In this interview, Dr. Thompson discusses the prevalence of statin-related muscle complaints, theories about their causation, and the conclusions of his and Dr. Marcoff’s review of the evidence on the role of CoQ10.

Besides therapeutic lifestyle change, what treatment do you recommend for a patient at high risk for CAD but unable to take or tolerate a statin?
- APOLLO User

Exercise

Weigh patients at every yearly visit and if their weight is up, even a little, get them on a daily exercise and weight loss program. It's easier to lose 2 pounds 50 times than 100 pounds once.

Paul D. Thompson, MD

Choice of CVD risk calculator important for diabetes patients
Monday, December 08, 2008 - Using a non-diabetes-specific risk calculator for cardiovascular disease would deny a small but significant number of diabetes patients statin therapy under current UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines, researchers report.
Elevated ApoM is not a risk factor for CAD
Monday, December 08, 2008 - Apolipoprotein M is not an independent risk factor but may be a useful biomarker for coronary artery disease, a Chinese case–control study has found.
High levels of sd-LDLs in Chinese stroke patients
Monday, December 08, 2008 - Results from a case–control study show increased levels of small, dense low-density lipoproteins in Chinese stroke patients compared with control individuals.

Symptoms during exercise testing ‘unrelated to HF outcomes’
Monday, December 08, 2008 - In heart failure patients undergoing exercise testing, the degree of exercise intolerance is a better indicator of prognosis than the development of specific symptoms, UK researchers have shown.
Provisional T-stenting best for coronary bifurcation lesions
Monday, December 08, 2008 - Provisional T-stenting is superior to routine T-stenting in the treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions, a randomized study using sirolimus-eluting stents has demonstrated.
Higher SBPs linked to lower mortality in CHF
Monday, December 08, 2008 - Meta-analysis findings demonstrate an inverse relationship between systolic blood pressure levels and mortality in patients with chronic heart failure.

Supported by educational grants from Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP and Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc.

The Steering Committee