Report shows drug combo more effective on diabetes

DALLAS According to a report in the American Journal of Cardiology, a combination of the drugs simvastatin, brand name Zocor and fenofibrate, brand name Tricor are better at treating mixed dyslipidemia in patients with Type 2 diabetes than treatment with either drug alone.

Mixed dyslipidemia is a condition in which an individual has several lipid irregularities, such as high LDLs and low HDLs and high triglycerides.

Researchers also found that simvastatin lowered intermediate density lipoprotein cholesterol significantly more than did fenofibrate. The percentage of LDL cholesterol was greatly reduced by fenofibrate, (13.7 percent) and by the combination of the two drugs, (11.1 percent), but not by simvastatin. LDL cholesterol is what leads to atherosclerosis and heart disease.

The study was done with 498 patients with Type 2 diabetes without coronary heart disease.