Twice-Weekly Simvastatin As Effective as Daily Doses
Twice-weekly simvastatin (Zocor generic, Merck) is just as effective, and perhaps safer, than daily doses of the drug, say researchers from Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs HealthCare System. They switched 31 patients from drug simvastatin 10 or 20 mg once a day to 40 or 80 mg once a week for 12 weeks and then compared lipid profiles at enrollment and at the sixth and 12th weeks.
After 12 weeks, two thirds of the patients remained at their goal for low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C). Most of the patients who did remain at their level had LDL-C goals of below 160 mg/dl or below 130 mg/dl.
Three patients reported not adhering to the regimen. A slight majority of patients found the twice-weekly regimen the same or easier to follow compared with taking daily doses. A larger clinical trial is needed to confirm the efficacy and safety of this approach.
