Pantethine, a derivative of vitamin B(5) used as a nutritional supplement, favorably alters low-density lipoprotein cholesterol metabolism in low- to moderate-cardiovascular risk North American subjects: a triple-blinded placebo and diet-controlled investigation.

Safety and efficacy of a biologically active derivative of vitamin B(5) (pantethine) on total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) metabolism was studied in North American subjects at conventional low to moderate cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. A total of 120 subjects initiated a therapeutic lifestyle change (TLC) diet 4 weeks before randomization (baseline) and maintained the diet throughout a 16-week study period; at baseline, subjects were randomized in a triple-blinded manner to either pantethine (600 mg/d, baseline to week 8, and 900 mg/d, weeks 9-16) or identically labeled, nonbiologically active placebo (n = 60 per group). We hypothesized that pantethine would lower TC and low-density lipoprotein in low-CVD-risk North American subjects in a similar manner as reported in high-CVD-risk subjects studied mainly in Italy and Japan. While sustaining a TLC diet and in comparison with placebo, pantethine demonstrated significant (P \u3c .005) and sustained reductions (from baseline to week 16) in TC (6 mg/dL, 0.16 mmol/L, 3%), LDL-C (4 mg/dL, 0.10 mmol/L, 4%), and apolipoprotein B (4 mg/dL, 0.04 g/L, 5%). Our data suggest that pantethine supplementation for 16 weeks (600 mg/d for weeks 1-8 then 900 mg/d for weeks 9-16) is safe and significantly lowers TC and LDL-C over and above the effect of TLC diet alone. Although the absolute magnitude of these effects was small in these low- to moderate-risk North Americans (4-6 mg/dL), the results are noteworthy as prior studies have shown that, for each 1 mg/dL (0.026 mmol/L) reduction in LDL-C, there is a concomitant 1% reduction in overall future CVD risk

Pantethine, a derivative of vitamin B5, favorably alters total, LDL and non-HDL cholesterol in low to moderate cardiovascular risk subjects eligible for statin therapy: a triple-blinded placebo and diet-controlled investigation.

High serum concentration of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease. The efficacy of pantethine treatment on cardiovascular risk markers was investigated in a randomized, triple-blinded, placebo-controlled study, in a low to moderate cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk North American population eligible for statin therapy, using the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) guidelines. A total of 32 subjects were randomized to pantethine (600 mg/day from weeks 1 to 8 and 900 mg/day from weeks 9 to 16) or placebo. Compared with placebo, the participants on pantethine showed a significant decrease in total cholesterol at 16 weeks (P=0.040) and LDL-C at 8 and 16 weeks (P=0.020 and P=0.006, respectively), and decreasing trends in non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol at week 8 and week 12 (P=0.102 and P=0.145, respectively) that reached significance by week 16 (P=0.042). An 11% decrease in LDL-C from baseline was seen in participants on pantethine, at weeks 4, 8, 12, and 16, while participants on placebo showed a 3% increase at week 16. This decrease was significant between groups at weeks 8 (P=0.027) and 16 (P=0.010). The homocysteine levels for both groups did not change significantly from baseline to week 16. Coenzyme Q10 significantly increased from baseline to week 4 and remained elevated until week 16, in both the pantethine and placebo groups. After 16 weeks, the participants on placebo did not show significant improvement in any CVD risk end points. This study confirms that pantethine lowers cardiovascular risk markers in low to moderate CVD risk participants eligible for statins according to NCEP guidelines