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Article: Managing lipids.(11th Retrovirus Conference Highlights)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- HIV Treatment: ALERTS!
- Article date:
- June 1, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Center for AIDS: Hope & Remembrance Project. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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High levels of triglycerides (a type of fat that travels in the blood) and cholesterol can be common in HIV+ patients and are risk factors for heart disease. This condition can be made worse by certain HIV medications. One small study looked at the effect of Pravachol (pravastatin), a drug used to lower cholesterol (abstract 77). In this "double-blind" study, meaning that patients and healthcare workers did not know which treatment each patient was receiving, patients were randomly chosen (by chance, like flipping a coin) to receive Pravachol or a placebo. Pravachol significantly reduced cholesterol levels and had other beneficial effects. The combination of Pravachol and ...