No abstract

SummaryIn order to evaluate the effects of hypocholesterolemic drugs on plasma fibrinogen concentration, six groups of subjects with primary hypercholesterolemia have been put on treatment with diet alone or diet plus fenofibrate (100 mg t.i.d.), slow release bezafibrate (400 mg once a day), gemfibrozil (600 mg b.i.d.), simvastatin (20 mg once a day) or pravastatin (20 mg once a day) respectively. After 1 month of therapy, plasma fibrinogen significantly decreased by 9% and 15% in fenofibrate and bezafibrate groups respectively and increased by 19% in gemfibrozil treated patients. After 4 months of therapy the changes were −16% with fenofibrate, −10% with bezafibrate and +20% with gemfibrozil. No significant changes were observed in patients treated with diet alone, simvastatin or pravastatin. The fibrinogen lowering effect of fenofibrate and bezafibrate does not seem to be related to the hypolipidemic activity of the drugs.

Mansonella perstans filariasis is widely present in Africa and equatorial America and its pathogenicity has recently been reconsidered. Effective treatment is lacking and there is no consensus on the optimal therapeutic approach. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of different drug regimens on M. perstans infection. Six different anthelminthic therapeutic protocols were undertaken on 165 subjects with M. perstans infection and their effects on microfilariae burden were evaluated. Diethylcarbamazine (DEC) was able to reduce microfilariae density in the majority of cases, but it seldom eliminated infection after a single treatment. Mebendazole appeared to be more active than DEC in eliminating the infection, with a comparable rate of overall responses. Ivermectin and praziquantel showed no modification of microfilariae concentration. Thiabendazole showed a small but significant activity against the infection. Combination treatments (DEC plus mebendazole) resulted in a significantly higher activity than the single drugs.

The lack of a significant difference in Deltatriglycerides/DeltaLDL cholesterol ratio among the treatment groups suggests that the more effective the statin is in decreasing LDL cholesterol, the more it will also be in decreasing serum triglycerides.