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    Am J Cardiol. 2006 Sep 1;98(5):641-3. Epub 2006 Jul 7.

    Effects of colesevelam hydrochloride (WelChol) on biomarkers of inflammation in patients with mild hypercholesterolemia.

    Devaraj S, Autret B, Jialal I.

    Laboratory for Atherosclerosis and Metabolic Research, University of California, Davis, Medical Center, Sacramento, California, USA.

    Inflammation is pivotal in atherogenesis. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), the prototypic marker of inflammation, has been shown to predict cardiovascular events. Colesevelam hydrochloride (HCl) (WelChol, Sankyo Pharma Incorporated, Parsippany, New Jersey), a specifically engineered bile acid sequestrant, has been shown to be effective in lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in monotherapy and in combination with statins or fenofibrate. Previously, we have shown that statins lower hs-CRP levels; however, a paucity of data is available examining the effect of colesevelam HCl on hs-CRP levels. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of colesevelam HCl therapy (3.75 g/day for 6 weeks) on hs-CRP in patients with mild hypercholesterolemia in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Twenty-five subjects on colesevelam HCl and 23 subjects on placebo completed the study. The median baseline hs-CRP levels for the treatment and placebo groups are 3.4 and 3.1 mg/L, respectively. Colesevelam HCl therapy resulted in a significant reduction in LDL cholesterol levels (p < 0.001). No significant changes were found in total triglyceride or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels between the 2 groups. Furthermore, colesevelam HCl therapy resulted in a significant reduction in hs-CRP levels compared with baseline and placebo (15.9% and 18.7% median reduction, respectively, p < 0.025). No correlation was found between LDL cholesterol lowering and hs-CRP lowering (r = 0.3). In conclusion, our results show that colesevelam HCl monotherapy significantly lowered hs-CRP levels in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

    PMID: 16923452 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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    Patient drug information

    • Fenofibrate (Antara®, Lofibra®, TriCor®, ...)

      Fenofibrate is used with diet changes (restriction of cholesterol and fat intake) to reduce the amount of cholesterol and triglycerides (fatty substances) in your blood. Accumulation of cholesterol and fats along the wal...

    • Colesevelam (WelChol®)

      Colesevelam is used along with diet, weight loss, and exerciseto reduce the amount of cholesterol and certain fatty substances in the blood. Colesevelam may be used alone or in combination with other cholesterol-lowering...