Red Yeast Rice: Substitute for Statins?
Red yeast rice is also in small practices, but there are also potential risks
Monday June 15 (HealthDay News) – A new study encourages a continuing controversy over the alleged cholesterol-lowering effect of the age-old natural red yeast rice product.
Red yeast rice is produced in a yeast, Monascus purpureus on rice. It was in the Asian countries for more than a thousand years as food and medicine. In the U.S. and Europe, was proposed as an alternative cholesterol-lowering treatment for those who do not statin because of serious side effects, particularly muscle atrophy and weakness.
The new study, doctors in Pennsylvania and in June 16 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, found a significant cholesterol lowering effect of commercially available nonprescription red yeast rice product in a small group of people.
The study included 62 people who stopped statin because of side effects. Each of them came a lifestyle change program, including information on nutrition, exercise and relaxation. Half also 1800 mg twice a day, a red yeast rice product in 24 weeks, while the other has a non-active substance.
“In this group, red yeast rice, the average decrease in cholesterol by 43 points after 12 weeks,” said Dr. Ram Y. Gordon, a cardiologist in practice was a member of the research. “The decline in the placebo group was only 11 points. In the long term decline was 35 versus 15 points. We believe that the difference is reduced, because after 12 weeks, we have people to do, but perhaps a bit more.”
There are complications associated with the product. Red yeast rice is a cloud of regulatory proceedings before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration because it is a natural statin, Lovastatin, sold as a drug called Mevacor. FDA against several red yeast rice – not in Pennsylvania study – on the grounds that they are not licensed medicinal products, a move that was confirmed after a court battle.
The products included in the study contains Lovastatin, Gordon said, but not enough for a reduction of the investigation. Trial participants, three 600-mg vial of red yeast rice twice a day.
“Everyone had a bottle milligrams Lovastatin. The six milligrams per day, it is really a small amount,” said Gordon. “And Lovastatin is one of the weaker statin. Drop-cholesterol was much more than what you would expect that a low dose of Lovastatin.”
Some of the statin side effects such as muscle pain and liver problems, was in the study, two people, red yeast rice and one of the inactive substance, but they were not serious, said Gordon.
The positive effect could be due to compounds related to Lovastatin, a large number of names are mona Colin K. There are nine or 10 “in other monacolins red yeast rice, and our theory is that these other monacolins effect on cholesterol in the liver,” said Gordon .
The promising aspect of the study is that “we have a product that could be useful for patients and doctors to solve this problem, statin myalgia [muscle pain],” he said.
But it was a small study, and much more testing to make many more people over a long period, “said Gordon. And Red yeast rice” is not without medical approval, and because a small amount of a statin, should be monitored for problems liver, “he said.
Er zijn mogelijke risico’s in de rode gist rijst, omdat de verkocht producten zijn in hoofdzaak niet-gereglementeerde, zoals de ervaring van de Werkgroep soortgelijke na een studie, die een soortgelijke resultaten, dat zij vorig jaar.
This study uses a non-regulated, red yeast rice product. After the study was that the manufacturer of the product formula changes, the elimination of Lovastatin and replaced ordinary sugar, said Gordon.
“There is real potential, but a lot of problems because the sources of red yeast rice is not very reliable,” Gordon noted.
But the big problem with the study is that it is too small for the inevitable side effects, including a small percentage of the population that statin such as Lovastatin, said Dr. Paul S. Phillips, director of interventional cardiology at the script Mercy Hospital in San Diego, who wrote an accompanying editorial.
Phillips said he often statin in patients at his cardiology practice. But he is also director of a statin myalgia hospital to be treated more than 600 people from adverse drug reactions.
Because red yeast rice contains Lovastatin, the potentially significant risks and more benefits than traditional drugs, and I would not recommend them all, “says Phillips.
