The cholesteraol drug Niaspan has been a popular one for Abbott Laboratories, but it’s getting some bad publicity these days. A good summary of the problems was reported by the Chicago Tribune recently. Here are excerpts from the article:
Fewer doctors are prescribing Abbott Laboratories’ drug to raise so-called good cholesterol levels in the wake of a study that that said the medicine failed to prevent heart attacks.
The May 26 study by the National Institutes of Health said high dosages of Niaspan failed to prevent heart attacks when combined with the popular generic cholesterol pill simvastatin, also known under the brand name Zocor.
Niaspan is used to raise levels of HDL, known as good cholesterol. Statins like simvastatin lower levels of so-called bad cholesterol, known as LDL.
