Efficacy of Pitavastatin, a New HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitor, on Lipid and Glucose Metabolism in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
- Toshihide Kawai, MD, PHD1,
- Mikiya Tokui, MD2,
- Osamu Funae, MD3,
- Shu Meguro, MD, PHD3,
- Satoru Yamada, MD, PHD4,
- Mitsuhisa Tabata, MD1 and
- Akira Shimada, MD, PHD1
- 1Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan
- 2Division of Internal Medicine, Tokui Clinic, Yokohama, Japan
- 3Department of Internal Medicine, Saiseikai Central Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
- 4Department of Internal Medicine, Kitasato Institute Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
- Address correspondence to Toshihide Kawai, MD, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan. E-mail: tkawai{at}sc.itc.keio.ac.jp
Type 2 diabetes is one of the risk factors for macrovascular disease. Treatment of hypercholesterolemia is important in patients with type 2 diabetes to prevent macrovascular disease. The 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins) are key drugs to lower the cholesterol level not only in nondiabetic patients but also in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, some statins might worsen glycemic control (1) whereas some of them might be neutral (2) or improve glycemic control (3), and their effects on glucose metabolism are controversial. Pitavastatin, an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, has been available in Japan since 2003 (4) and the Republic of Korea since 2005, and its effect on glucose metabolism in diabetic patients …
