Cholesterol and Red Yeast Rice

February 10, 2010 by
High cholesterol should often be considered an indicator of excess oxidation, inflammation, and other underlying factors. However, despite the appropriate lifestyle changes, genetics often stand in the way of achieving optimal cholesterol levels. In these instances, supplements such as red yeast rice may prove beneficial:
 
 

Red Yeast Rice Extract Lowers M.I. Incidence and Mortality from Coronary Disease

Author: Steve Austin, N.D.

Reference: Li J-J, Lu Z-L, Kou W-R, et al. Beneficial impact of Xuezhikang on cardiovascular events and mortality in elderly hypertensive patients with previous myocardial infarction from the China Coronary Secondary Prevention Study (CCSPS). J Clin Pharmacol 2009;49:947-56.

Design: Randomized double-blind intervention trial

Participants: 1530 elderly (≥65 years of age) hypertensive subjects with a history of myocardial infarction (MI)

Study Medication and Dosage: Subjects received either Xuezhikang, a red yeast rice (RYR) extract, administered as 600 mg b.i.d., or placebo for an average of 4.5 years. Each 600 mg capsule of RYR contained 2.5-3.2 mg of monacolin K plus “a small quantity of lovastatin hydroxyl acid as well as ergosterol and some other components.”

Primary Outcome Measures: Recurrent coronary events

Key Findings: Compared with the placebo group, there was a 38% reduced risk of suffering a coronary event (primarily MIs) (P=0.0009). Similarly there was a 29% reduced risk of dying from coronary disease during the course of the trial (P=0.05). Secondary endpoints revealed a 21% decline in LDL levels in the RYR group (P=0.0001) and a 12% decline in triglyceride levels (P=0.003) compared with trivial declines in the placebo group. Total mortality also declined by 36% in the group receiving RYR (P=0.003).

Practice Implications: RYR extracts are known to reduce cholesterol levels in humans and have been traditionally used in China to treat people with cardiovascular disease. RYR naturally contains the same molecule found in the prescription drug lovastatin. Previous RYR research has focused primarily on cholesterol reduction, though some evidenc
e for reduction in inflammatory markers has also surfaced.

The current trial goes several steps further, showing clinically (and statistically) significant reductions in coronary disease incidence and mortality. Hidden in the data is a near-statistically significant (P=0.06) 37% reduction in the risk of stroke and a statistically significant (P<0.04) reduction in total cancer incidence when compared with the placebo group. No current understanding of the effects of RYR clearly explains these additional positive findings.

One caveat requires mentioning: a previous report studying the pharmacokinetics of a related statin drug found that area-under-the-curve response was twice as great in Chinese subjects compared with white subjects (Clin Pharmacol Ther 2005;78:330-41). Should further investigations confirm these findings in regard to monacolins found in RYR, white (and potentially black) patients might require significantly higher doses of RYR to achieve the same clinical outcomes that occurred in the new report, which studied Chinese subjects.

Filed Under: Heart Disease Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Soy and Breast Cancer

January 5, 2010 by

Soy linked to longer survival in Chinese women with breast cancer

JAMA 2009;302:2437-43 [PubMed Abstract]

Researchers studying the anticancer effects of soy have found a link
between high dietary intake and prolonged survival in Chinese women
with breast cancer. Women in the highest quarter of daily intake were
29% less likely to die (hazard ratio 0.71, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.92) and 32%
less likely to have a recurrence (0.68, 0.54 to 0.87) than women in the
lowest quarter. The inverse association with all cause mortality was
stronger for soy protein than for soy isoflavones and remained
significant through multiple adjustments for factors known to influence
survival including age, cancer stage, treatment, other dietary factors,
body mass index, menopausal status, and the hormone receptor status of
the tumour.

The 5042 participants lived in Shanghai and were recruited from the
Chinese cancer registry about six months after their cancer diagnosis.
They completed detailed food frequency questionnaires that measured
their daily intake of tofu, soy milk, soy beans, and other common soy
products.

Their mean daily intake was equivalent to 47 mg a day of isoflavones, a
much higher figure than would be expected for women outside China, says
an editorial (p 2483). Women in the US, for example, eat between 1 and
6 mg a day, usually as supplements, meat substitutes, and processed
foods. It is hard to say whether the associations reported here will
translate well to other populations. This study does show that soy is
safe, however. Soy has heterogeneous effects on oestrogen metabolism,
leading to fears that it might encourage the growth of breast tumours.
That now seems unlikely.

© 2009 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

Filed Under: Women's Health Tagged With: , , , ,
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