Effects of policosanol in the functional recovery of non-cardioembolic ischemic stroke hypertensive patients.

Introduction: Clinical studies results show that policosanol (20 mg/day) + aspirin therapy had benefits versus placebo + aspirin to patients with recent non-cardioembolic ischemic stroke.

Aim: To analyze the policosanol treatment effects in the hypertensive patients included in two non-cardioembolic ischemic stroke recovery trials.

Patients And Methods: Hypertensive patients with a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score 2 to 4 were randomized, within 30 days of onset, to policosanol + aspirin or placebo + aspirin, for six months.

[Effects in rats of bee-wax alcohols (D-002) on ulcerative colitis induced by dextran sulfate and ethanol].

Objectives.: To investigate the effects of D-002, a mixture of 6 high molecular weight primary aliphatic alcohols, obtained from beeswax (Apis mellifera), on severe inflammatory ulcerative colitis (UC) induced by Dextran sulfate (DSS) and ethanol in rats (Ratus ratus).

Materials And Methods.

A long-term study of policosanol in the treatment of intermittent claudication.

Policosanol is a cholesterol-lowering drug with concomitant antiplatelet effects. This study was undertaken to investigate the long-term effects of policosanol administered to patients with moderately severe intermittent claudication. The study consisted of a 6-week single-blind, placebo-controlled run in phase, followed by a 2-year double-blind, randomized treatment step.

Effect of policosanol on arterial blood pressure in rats. Study of the pharmacological interaction with nifedipine and propranolol.

Background: Policosanol is a natural mixture of higher aliphatic primary alcohols isolated from sugar cane wax (Saccharum officinarum, L) with cholesterol-lowering effects demonstrated in experimental models and in patients with type II hyperlipoproteinemia. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of policosanol on arterial blood pressure and its interaction with propranolol and nifedipine.

Methods: Single doses of policosanol (25, 50 and 200 mg/kg) orally administered to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) did not significantly change arterial pressure.

Treatment of hypercholesterolemia in NIDDM with policosanol.

Objective: To determine whether elevated levels of cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) patients could be decreased by policosanol, a new cholesterol-lowering drug. NIDDM predisposes patients to coronary artery disease (CAD) through the direct action of hyperglycemia on the arteries as well as the dyslipidemia induced by NIDDM.

Research Design And Methods: This double-blind placebo-controlled trial was performed in 29 patients with NIDDM and hypercholesterolemia.

Carcinogenicity of policosanol in Sprague Dawley rats: a 24 month study.

The effects of policosanol (50-500 mg/kg) administered orally for 24 months to Sprague Dawley rats of both sexes were investigated. No differences related to daily clinical observations, weight gain, food consumption, or mortality (survival analysis) between groups were found. Histopathological study showed that the frequency of the occurrence of non-neoplastic and neoplastic (benign and malignant) lesions was similar in the control and policosanol-treated groups.