Effect of pravastatin on fatty acid profile of low density lipoprotein in patients with hypercholesterolemia.

We gave pravastatin, an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, to 21 hypercholesterolemic patients for 12 weeks after they had been on dietary therapy for 12 weeks. In addition to inducing a significant reduction of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol, pravastatin significantly decreased the proportion of linoleic acid (18:2) and increased that of saturated (FA) (16:0 and 18:0) in the cholesterol ester of LDL. Linoleic acid was also reduced in the triglyceride of LDL. Besides, monounsaturated FA (16:1 and 18:1) were increased in the cholesterol ester, triglyceride and phospholipid of LDL, but the changes in monounsaturated FA were not statistically significant. The effect of pravastatin on the FA profile of LDL was similar to that of fibric acid derivatives. The mechanism as well as the clinical implication of these changes await further investigation.