Effect of D-glucitol-hexanicotinate on platelet aggregability in patients with coronary heart disease.

D-glucitol-hexanicotinate (sorbinicate) was administered at a daily dose of 1.6 mg to 16 male patients who had survived myocardial infarction. Platelet aggregation induced by collagen (5 micrograms/ml), by ADP (2, 1.2, 0.8, and 0.4 X 10(-6)M), and by epinephrine (1 and 0.5 X 10(-6)M) was significantly decreased after 3 months of therapy. In a group of 13 comparable patients, who did not receive sorbinicate, platelet aggregation induced by ADP (1.2, 0.8, and 0.4 X 10(-6)M) and by epinephrine (1 X 10(-5)M and 1 X 10(-6)M) was significantly increased 3 months after entry into the study. Sorbinicate has effective lipid-lowering activity; the combination of hypolipidemic and anti-aggregating properties may prove important in primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic disease.