Berberine and monacolin effects on the cardiovascular risk profile of women with oestroprogestin-induced hypercholesterolemia
Cicero, A.F.G.; Reggi, A.; Parini, A.; Morbini, M.; Rosticci, M.; Grandi, E.; Borghi, C.
High Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Prevention the Official Journal of the Italian Society of Hypertension 21(3): 221-226
2014
ISSN/ISBN: 1179-1985 PMID: 24728953 DOI: 10.1007/s40292-014-0052-5Document Number: 635867
One of the most frequent side effect of oral contraceptives use is a stable alteration of the lipid profile. This could be even more relevant in women affected by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Considering the importance of a balanced lipid profile in cardiovascular prevention and that the exposure to the drugs could be many years long, our aim was to investigate the possible beneficial effect of a largely tested low-dosed combined lipid-lowering nutraceutical on dyslipidemias induced by oestroprogestins prescribed to young women for different indications. We prospectively enrolled 84 patients in primary cardiovascular disease prevention, with low estimated cardiovascular disease risk (<5 % according to the ESC/EAS guidelines), and LDL-C increased above normal value (LDL-C >130 mg/dL) after the use of at least two different oral oestroprogestins treatments. Forty-four women were prescribed oral oestroprogestins for PCOS, while 40 for pure contraception. The tested nutraceutical contained berberine 500 mg/tab and monacolins 3 mg/tab was prescribed to all enrolled patients, associated the previously prescribed standard lipid-lowering diet. After 3 months of nutraceutical treatment, we observed a significant improvement in BMI (-1.5 ± 0.8 %, p < 0.001), FPG (-6.9 ± 5.8 %, p < 0.001), HOMA index (-3.5 ± 5.6 %, p < 0.001), TC (-20.1 ± 6.6 %, p < 0.001), LDL-C (-25.3 ± 8.9 %, p < 0.001), HDL-C (+14.1 ± 2.2 %, p < 0.001), TG (-29.9 ± 25.2 %, p < 0.001) and hsCRP (-2.5 ± 2.4 %, p = 0.019). Similar results have been obtained even repeating the analysis by subgroups, beyond hsCRP that significantly improved in PCOS patients compared to both the baseline and the non-PCOS group. It appears that the tested combined lipid-lowering nutraceutical is able to equally improve lipid metabolism in oral contraceptive induced hypercholesterolemia in women affected or not by PCOS.
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