ProLipid

Each type of "hyperlipidemia" suchf as high cholesterol or high triglycerides must be treated with a different class or combination of drugs.

There is a difference between the "active ingredient" and the trade-name of a drug. The active ingredient is the chemical compound that actually causes the desired pharmacological effect, where as the trade name refers to the finished product, e.g. a pill with active ingredient and all the additives ("excipients") such as binding agents, colors or flavors. The trade names (such as Lipitor® or Zocor®) are familiar to us, whereas the active ingredients (in these cases, they are statins) may not.

In this article, I will talk about lipid disorders and active ingredients, before looking at actual drugs (Lipitor®, Niaspan®, Lopid®, Zetia® and the like) in the next article.

Types of Lipid Disorders

Lipids are fat-like substances such as triglycerides (= plant oils and animal fats), fatty acids, and cholesterol. There are 3 main types of lipid disorders: one where blood (or "serum") cholesterol is too high (hypercholesterolemia), one where blood tryiglycerides are too high (hypertriglyceridemia), and a combination of the two where both types of lipids are too high (= combined hyperlipidemia).

Sometimes, you will also hear the word "dys"lepidemia ("dys" meaning 'abnormal' or 'impaired', "lipidemia" meaning lipid disorder) instead of "hyper"lipidemia ("hyper" meaning 'above' or 'excessive').

*Care must be taken when combining Statins with Fibrates because of a potential increase in severe side effects. If Fibrates must be combined with a Statin, Fenofibrate should be used because this fibrate causes fewer side effects.

The matter is complicated a bit by the fact that there are different kinds of statins, as well as different kinds of fibrates (although not nearly as many).

Please have a look at "Which Statin is Best" for thorough overview on different statins, or at "Fibrates" for a short description of the more common fibrates.