Shah Murad, Ghazi Mahmood, Amar Lal Ghurbakhshani, Moosa Khan, Aslam Channa, Nighat Kafil, Mohsin Turab, Aijaz Fatima.
Niacin decreases the risk of coronary heart disease.
Pak J Med Health Sci Jan ;4(2):78-81.

Objective: Study was planned to examine the effects of Niacin on serum Total cholesterol and LDL-Cholesterol Design: Single blind placebo controlled study Place and duration of study: Study was conducted at department of Pharmacology, Basic Medical Sciences Institute (BMSI), Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi, from January 2006 to July 2006. Patient and methods: Forty hyperlipidemic patients were included, among which 20 patients were on placebo as control group, and 20 were on tablet Niacin, 2 gram daily, in divided doses for the period of three months. Patients with diabetes mellitus, peptic ulcer, renal disease, hepatic disease, hypothyroidism and alcoholism were excluded from the study. Serum total cholesterol was calculated by enzymatic caloricmeter method. Serum LDL-cholesterol was calculated by Friedwald formula(LDL-Cholesterol = Total Cholesterol-(Triglycerides/5 +HDL-Cholesterol) described by Delong et al (1986) and Beamount et al (1970).Data were expressed as the mean ± SD and “t” test was applied to determine statistical significance as the difference. A probability value of <0.05 was the limit of significance. Results: Three patients were dropped from the study due to side effects of Niacin. Niacin has decreased serum total cholesterol from 253.00±7.73 to 189.94±3.85 (mg/dl), which was highly significant statistically. Percentage change was -24.92. The drug has decreased the levels of LDL-Cholesterol from182.58±8.74 mg/dl to 119.29±4.08 mg/dl, which was highly significant (P<0.001), when compared statistically by paired “t” test. Overall percentage (%) changes from day-0 to day-90 were -34.66 in this parameter. Conclusion: Finally we concluded from this study that Niacin decreases the risk of CHD by decreasing serum total cholesterol and LDL-Cholesterol

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com