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

Scant evidence to support statin pleiotropic effects
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - Results from a large, population-based cohort study in the UK confirm the established benefit of statins on cardiovascular disease, but offer little evidence to support previous claims for their wide-ranging pleiotropic effects.
PLTP variation associated with hyperalphalipoproteinemia
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - Variation in the phospholipid transfer protein gene is associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level in individuals with hyperalphalipoproteinemia, report researchers.
NSTE ACS outcomes no worse in obese than nonobese patients
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - Obese individuals with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes have no worse outcomes than nonobese, despite having multiple risk factors, report investigators from the SYNERGY trial.

Trends in hospitalizations for coronary heart disease in New Zealand
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - The recent trend of increased hospitalizations for acute myocardial infarction may be explained by factors other than an increase in acute myocardial infarction rate, results of a study show.
Vitamin D deficiency ‘increases hypertension risk’
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - Young women with low plasma levels of vitamin D are at increased risk for developing hypertension, researchers have shown.
Brachial BP underestimates vascular burden in African Americans
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - Young and healthy African-American men have a high prevalence of undetected hypertension and subclinical cardiovascular disease, new research suggests.

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

The Steering Committee