Gemfibrozil treatment in patients with elevated lipoprotein a: a pilot study.

Objective: This pilot study investigated the efficacy of high-dose gemfibrozil (2400 mg/day) in treating patients with elevated lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)]. Lp(a) has been shown to be an independent risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease (CHD).

Patients: Eleven patients with serum Lp(a) >/=45 mg/dl participated in this 12-week study.

Minimal response of circulating lipids in women with polycystic ovary syndrome to improvement in insulin sensitivity with troglitazone.

We hypothesized that the administration of troglitazone (TGZ), an insulin-sensitizing agent of the thiazolidinedione class, would improve dyslipidemia associated with insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Three hundred and ninety-eight women with PCOS in a multicenter, double-blind trial were randomly assigned to 44 wk of treatment with: placebo or troglitazone (150, 300, or 600 mg/d). We examined the responses of circulating lipid and lipoproteins [total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TTG)] by treatment arm, and the influence of glycemic parameters on baseline levels and response to treatment.

Troglitazone improves ovulation and hirsutism in the polycystic ovary syndrome: a multicenter, double blind, placebo-controlled trial.

We hypothesized that the administration of troglitazone, an insulin-sensitizing agent of the thiazolidinedione class, would improve the ovulatory dysfunction, hirsutism, hyperandrogenemia, and hyperinsulinemia of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients. Four hundred and ten premenopausal women with PCOS in a multicenter, double blind trial were randomly assigned to 44 weeks of treatment with placebo (PBO) or troglitazone [150 mg/day (TGZ-150), 300 mg/day (TGZ-300), or 600 mg/day (TGZ-600)]. We compared changes in ovulatory function (by monitoring the urinary level of pregnanediol-3-glucuronide daily), hirsutism (by a modified Ferriman-Gallwey scoring method), hormonal levels (total and free testosterone, androstenedione, sex hormone-binding globulin, LH, FSH, and the LH/FSH ratio), and measures of glycemic parameters (fasting levels of glucose, insulin, hemoglobin A(1c), and the glucose and insulin areas under the curve during an oral glucose challenge) among study groups.