Lovastatin does not affect oral glucose tolerance in hypercholesterolemic patients

In 15 non-diabetic Type II hypercholesterolemic patients, the effect of 80 mg lovastatin daily on oral glucose tolerance was investigated. Using a randomized, double-blind, two-panel, parallel design, patients on a low cholesterol diet received lovastatin (n = 7) or placebo (n = 8) for 6 weeks. After 6 weeks of treatment, patients receiving lovastatin had a significant reduction in total cholesterol (30%), LDL-cholesterol (36%), and triglycerides (26%). Time courses of plasma glucose and serum insulin changes from baseline after the oral glucose tolerance test were evaluated by AUC. No statistically significant differences were observed in the AUC of changes from baseline between treatment groups or within either treatment group at prestudy, 6 weeks, and poststudy. No patient had a clinically important laboratory or clinical drug-related adverse effect during the study. This study demonstrated that short-term administration of 80 mg lovastatin daily effectively lowers cholesterol without having adverse effects on oral glucose tolerance.