Health-related quality of life and long-term therapy with pravastatin and tocopherol (vitamin E) in older adults.

Introduction: Concerns about the effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors ('statins') on health-related quality of life may contribute to their underuse in older adults with and at risk for cardiovascular disease. These concerns also may prevent clinicians from enrolling older patients in clinical trials assessing the efficacy of statins as a preventive therapy for Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: To determine the effects of pravastatin and tocopherol (vitamin E), alone and in combination, on health-related quality of life in older adults.

Inaccuracy of lipid measurements with the portable Cholestech L.D.X analyzer in patients with hypercholesterolemia.

Background: Although total cholesterol concentrations measured by portable lipid analyzers have acceptable bias and precision in young and middle-aged adults, clinically relevant differences in HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglyceride values have been described. Furthermore, the accuracy of portable lipid analyzers in older hyperlipidemic individuals, who have a high incidence of coronary heart disease, has not been validated. This study determined the biases and variability in portable lipid measurements in older patients with hypercholesterolemia and related them to National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines.