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New approaches to atherosclerosis: an overview
1Medicinal Chemistry Department, Central Research, Pfizer, Inc., Groton, CT 06340.
Medicinal Research Reviews
|March 1, 1993
Summary
This review examines atherosclerosis treatments, highlighting LDL reduction as proven and HDL elevation as promising. Future research will focus on HDL and non-lipid interventions for comprehensive cardiovascular disease risk reduction.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Pharmacology
- Medical Chemistry
Background:
- Atherosclerosis treatment involves various approaches targeting different physiological effects.
- Current strategies include LDL reduction, with growing interest in HDL elevation and non-lipid interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review mechanisms of action and agents for atherosclerosis treatment.
- To assess the speculative benefits and medicinal chemistry efforts for different therapeutic approaches.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on atherosclerosis treatment mechanisms and agents.
- Categorization of approaches based on primary physiological effects.
- Analysis of the current state of clinical data and research effort in each area.
Main Results:
- LDL reduction is a well-established benefit, while HDL elevation shows potential but requires more clinical evidence.
- Direct anti-atherosclerotic effects are largely unproven, with limited clinical data for most novel approaches.
- Medicinal chemistry efforts correlate with the perceived clinical benefit, with declining effort for more speculative approaches.
Conclusions:
- Future research will likely prioritize HDL elevation and non-lipid interventions due to accumulating evidence and technological advancements.
- Developing complementary agents for HDL elevation and non-lipid approaches will enhance cardiovascular disease risk reduction across all patient populations.
- Advances in plaque-imaging techniques will facilitate the evaluation of novel anti-atherosclerotic agents in clinical trials.