A ONE-YEAR MULTICENTRE STUDY OF SIMVASTATIN IN THE TREATMENT OF HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA

SUMMARY A 1-year prospective study was conducted in 475 hypercholesterolaemic men and women who received simvastatin monotherapy 10–40 mg daily for 3 months followed by additional lipid-lowering medication after this period, if necessary, to reach a target of plasma cholesterol <5.3 mmol/l. Of these, 403 subjects completed 1 year of follow-up. By the end of the 3-month monotherapy period, the following percentage mean changes were seen (with 95% confidence intervals): total cholesterol (TC) -31% (-30 to -32%), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol -39% (-38 to -40%), triglycerides -14% (-11 to -17%) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol +12% (+11 to +14%). These levels were maintained for the remainder of the study. When subjects with a baseline TC of 6.5–7.8 mmol/l were considered (n=89), 42.7% achieved the target TC levels on simvastatin monotherapy alone. Additional hypolipidaemic medication had no significant impact on plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels. Simvastatin was well tolerated both as monotherapy and in combination.     

Growth-promoting Activity of Sanyak (Dioscoreae rhizoma) Extract on Injured Sciatic Nerve in Rats

The present study evaluates the potential effects of Sanyak (Dioscoreae rhizome) on the regenerative capacity of the peripheral sciatic nerve after crush injury in rats. Focal application of Sanyak extract at the injury site increased GAP-43 and Cdc2 protein levels in the distal portion of the injured nerve. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the signals of phospho-vimentin as Cdc2 substrate protein were almost colocalized with Cdc2. Retrograde DiI-tracing revealed enhancement in distal elongation of regenerating axons. Furthermore, the number of non-neuronal cells was higher in Sanyak-treated animals than saline controls. Thus, these data suggest that Sanyak extract is effective for promoting regenerative responses in injured peripheral neurons.