Affiliation: | 1. Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island Departments of Family Medicine, Brown University School of Medicine, Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, Pawtucket, Rhode Island;2. Departments of Family Medicine, Brown University School of Medicine, Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, Pawtucket, Rhode Island;3. Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University School of Medicine, Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, Pawtucket, Rhode Island;4. Foundation for Blood Research, Scarborough, Maine;5. USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts |
Abstract: | Study Objective . To determine the efficacy of high-dose ascorbate supplementation in lowering lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] levels in patients with premature coronary heart disease (CHD). Design . Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Setting . Outpatient clinic. Patients . Forty-four patients with documented premature CHD. defined as confirmed myocardial infarction and/or angiographically determined stenosis of 50% or greater in at least one major coronary artery before age 60 years. Interventions . Patients were block randomized on the basis of age, gender, and screening Lp(a) concentrations to receive ascorbate 4.5 g/day or placebo for 12 weeks. Measurements and Main Results . High-dose ascorbate was well tolerated and produced a marked elevation in mean plasma ascorbate levels (+1.2 mg/dl; p<0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed no significant effect of supplementation on postintervention Lp(a) levels (p=0.39) in a model that included treatment group assignment, and baseline Lp(a) levels. Conclusions . Our findings do not support a clinically important lowering effect of high-dose ascorbate on plasma Lp(a) in patients with premature CHD. |