Long-Term Use of Gemfibrozil (Lopid®) in the Treatment of Dyslipidemia

Abstract

This report describes the results of long-term treatment for blood lipid regulation with a new drug, gemfibrozil (Lopid®). During a short-term placebo-controlled phase, gemfibrozil had significantly reduced triglycerides, VLDL-cholesterol, and total LDL-cholesterol, and had significantly increased HDL-cholesterol and the HDL-cholesterol to total cholesterol ratio. It had not, however, greatly affected total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol. In the long term phase of the study the improvement attained during the controlled phase was maintained. More important, the lipoprotein values that had not shown improvement in the controlled phase showed definite beneficial changes. The types and incidence of adverse reactions during the long term treatment were similar to those observed during the controlled period. The results of the study indicate that gemfibrozil is effective and relatively safe for the long term treatment of lipid irregularities.