Pantethine improves the lipid abnormalities of chronic hemodialysis patients: results of a multicenter clinical trial.

In the course of a post-marketing surveillance program on the effectiveness and tolerability of pantethine in the treatment of hyperlipidemia, the effects of the drug were explored in 31 patients with dyslipidemia undergoing chronic hemodialysis. The mean duration of treatment was 9 months (min. 7 months, max. 24 months), with oral doses of 600 to 1200 mg of pantethine daily (mean daily dosage 970 mg). Improvement was noted in terms of total blood cholesterol in the 7 patients with basal hypercholesterolemia (p less than 0.01) and highly significant reduction of serum triglycerides. No variations of HDL-cholesterol or total Apo-A were detected. None of the patients experienced any adverse effects from the treatment. In the light of extensive experience with the drug, plus the results of this study, the authors conclude by stressing the importance of an effective and readily tolerated product, such as pantethine, for the treatment of dyslipidemia in patients on chronic hemodialysis.