The research was presented at the 16th International Symposium on Drugs Affecting Lipid Metabolism in New York in October, 2007.
Adding an Omega-3 fatty acid supplement to the statin prescription cut the triglyceride levels.
HDL cholesterol levels went down also, and the LDL cholesterol levels did not go up.
“We often see clinical situations with our patients where they are being treated with a statin but continue to have elevations in triglyceride levels,” says research team leader Dr Harold Bays with the Louisville Metabolic and Atherosclerosis Research Center.
How much of an impact does the Omega-3 supplements have? In some cases, 29%.
“What is most applicable to physicians is that there was an approximate 30% reduction in triglyceride levels among those treated with the omega-3 fatty acids,” says Dr. Bays. “When we look at the LDL-cholesterol levels, there was no significant difference in the change in LDL cholesterol in this trial.”
“There was a small median increase, which wasn’t significant. The reason this is important is because we can now say that many patients who have persistent elevations in their triglyceride levels, even after they’ve been on stable statin therapy, can benefit from dietary supplementation. Adding the omega-3 fatty acid can lower triglycerides and lower non-HDL cholesterol, all without adversely affecting LDL levels.”