Clinical data | |
---|---|
Trade names | Pravachol, others |
AHFS/Drugs.com | Monograph |
MedlinePlus | a692025 |
License data |
|
Pregnancy category |
|
Routes of administration | By mouth |
ATC code | |
Legal status | |
Legal status | |
Pharmacokinetic data | |
Bioavailability | 18% [4] |
Protein binding | 50% [4] |
Metabolism | Liver (minimal) [4] |
Elimination half-life | 1-3 hours [4] |
Identifiers | |
| |
CAS Number | |
PubChem CID | |
IUPHAR/BPS | |
DrugBank | |
ChemSpider | |
UNII | |
KEGG | |
ChEBI | |
ChEMBL | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.216.225 |
Chemical and physical data | |
Formula | C23H36O7 |
Molar mass | 424.534 g·mol−1 |
3D model (JSmol) | |
| |
| |
(what is this?) (verify) |
Pravastatin, sold under the brand name Pravachol among others, is a statin medication, used for preventing cardiovascular disease in those at high risk and treating abnormal lipids. [5] It is suggested to be used together with diet changes, exercise, and weight loss. [5] It is taken by mouth. [5]
Common side effects include joint pain, diarrhea, nausea, headaches, and muscle pains. [5] Serious side effects may include rhabdomyolysis, liver problems, and diabetes. [5] Use during pregnancy may harm the fetus. [5] Like all statins, pravastatin works by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme found in liver that plays a role in producing cholesterol. [5]
Pravastatin was patented in 1980 and approved for medical use in 1989. [6] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. [7] It is available as a generic medication. [5] In 2022, it was the 37th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 16 million prescriptions. [8] [9]
Pravastatin is primarily used for the treatment of dyslipidemia and the prevention of cardiovascular disease. [10] It is recommended to be used only after other measures, such as diet, exercise, and weight reduction, have not improved cholesterol levels. [10]
Pravastatin has been found to have a similar effectiveness at lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol as fluvastatin but evidence indicates that pravastatin may not be as effective as other statin medications. [11] The beneficial effect of pravastatin is dependent on the dose and the potential for side effects or unwanted effects from this medication are not clear from clinical trials. [11]
Pravastatin has undergone over 112,000 patient-years of double-blind, randomized trials using the 40 mg, once-daily dose and placebos. These trials indicate pravastatin is well tolerated and displays few noncardiovascular abnormalities in patients. [12]
Contraindications, conditions that warrant withholding treatment with pravastatin, include pregnancy and breastfeeding. [13] Taking pravastatin while pregnant could lead to birth defects. While the amount of pravastatin ingested by an infant from breastfeeding is low, patients breastfeeding should not take pravastatin due to potential effects on the infant's lipid metabolism. [14]
Medications that should not be taken with pravastatin include, but are not limited to: [10] [13]
The combination of fenofibrate with pravastatin is approved for use in the European Union. [15]
Pravastatin acts as a lipoprotein-lowering drug through two pathways. In the major pathway, pravastatin inhibits the function of hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase. As a reversible competitive inhibitor, pravastatin sterically hinders the action of HMG-CoA reductase by occupying the active site of the enzyme. Taking place primarily in the liver, this enzyme is responsible for the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate in the rate-limiting step of the biosynthetic pathway for cholesterol. Pravastatin also inhibits the synthesis of very-low-density lipoproteins, which are the precursor to low-density lipoproteins (LDL). These reductions increase the number of cellular LDL receptors, thus LDL uptake increases, removing it from the bloodstream. [16]
Oral bioavailability of pravastatin ranges from 17-34% with peak plasma concentration achieved 1-1.5 hours after administration. Absorption of drug is modestly decreased when taken with food however this does not reduce the clinical lipid-lowering effect. [1]
The 3α-hydroxyisomeric metabolite of pravastatin is also an active HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor with approximately 2.5-10% the potency of the parent compound. Pravastatin has a plasma half-life of 1.8 hours whereas this active metabolite has a half-life up to 77 hours. [1]
Initially known as CS-514, pravastatin is a derivative of ML236B (compactin), which was identified in a fungus called Penicillium citrinum in the 1970s by researchers of the Sankyo Pharma Inc. [17] It is being marketed outside Japan by the pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb. In 2005, Pravachol was the 22nd-highest selling brand-name drug in the United States, with sales totaling $1.3 billion. [18]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved generic pravastatin for use in the United States in April 2006. [18] Generic pravastatin sodium tablets were manufactured by Biocon Ltd, India and Teva Pharmaceuticals in Kfar Sava, Israel. [18]
Statins are a class of medications that lower cholesterol. They are prescribed typically to people who are at high risk of cardiovascular disease.
In pharmacology, the fibrates are a class of amphipathic carboxylic acids and esters. They are derivatives of fibric acid. They are used for a range of metabolic disorders, mainly hypercholesterolemia, and are therefore hypolipidemic agents.
Dyslipidemia is a metabolic disorder characterized by abnormally high or low amounts of any or all lipids or lipoproteins in the blood. Dyslipidemia is a risk factor for the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, which include coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral artery disease. Although dyslipidemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, abnormal levels do not mean that lipid lowering agents need to be started. Other factors, such as comorbid conditions and lifestyle in addition to dyslipidemia, is considered in a cardiovascular risk assessment. In developed countries, most dyslipidemias are hyperlipidemias; that is, an elevation of lipids in the blood. This is often due to diet and lifestyle. Prolonged elevation of insulin resistance can also lead to dyslipidemia.
Atorvastatin is a statin medication used to prevent cardiovascular disease in those at high risk and to treat abnormal lipid levels. For the prevention of cardiovascular disease, statins are a first-line treatment. It is taken by mouth.
Simvastatin, sold under the brand name Zocor among others, is a statin, a type of lipid-lowering medication. It is used along with exercise, diet, and weight loss to decrease elevated lipid levels. It is also used to decrease the risk of heart problems in those at high risk. It is taken by mouth.
Fluvastatin is a member of the statin drug class, used to treat hypercholesterolemia and to prevent cardiovascular disease.
Rosuvastatin, sold under the brand name Crestor among others, is a statin medication, used to prevent cardiovascular disease in those at high risk and treat abnormal lipids. It is recommended to be used together with dietary changes, exercise, and weight loss. It is taken orally.
Lovastatin, sold under the brand name Mevacor among others, is a statin medication, to treat high blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Its use is recommended together with lifestyle changes. It is taken by mouth.
Cerivastatin is a synthetic member of the class of statins used to lower cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular disease. It was marketed by the pharmaceutical company Bayer A.G. in the late 1990s, competing with Pfizer's highly successful atorvastatin (Lipitor). Cerivastatin was voluntarily withdrawn from the market worldwide in 2001, due to reports of fatal rhabdomyolysis.
Gemfibrozil, sold under the brand name Lopid among others, is a medication used to treat abnormal blood lipid levels. It is generally less preferred than statins. Use is recommended together with dietary changes and exercise. It is unclear if it changes the risk of heart disease. It is taken by mouth.
HMG-CoA reductase is the rate-controlling enzyme of the mevalonate pathway, the metabolic pathway that produces cholesterol and other isoprenoids. HMGCR catalyzes the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonic acid, a necessary step in the biosynthesis of cholesterol. Normally in mammalian cells this enzyme is competitively suppressed so that its effect is controlled. This enzyme is the target of the widely available cholesterol-lowering drugs known collectively as the statins, which help treat dyslipidemia.
Hyperlipidemia is abnormally high levels of any or all lipids or lipoproteins in the blood. The term hyperlipidemia refers to the laboratory finding itself and is also used as an umbrella term covering any of various acquired or genetic disorders that result in that finding. Hyperlipidemia represents a subset of dyslipidemia and a superset of hypercholesterolemia. Hyperlipidemia is usually chronic and requires ongoing medication to control blood lipid levels.
Fenofibrate, is an oral medication of the fibrate class used to treat abnormal blood lipid levels. It is less commonly used compared to statins because it treats a different type of cholesterol abnormality to statins. While statins have strong evidence for reducing heart disease and death, there is evidence to suggest that fenofibrate also reduces the risk of heart disease and death. However, this seems only to apply to specific populations of people with elevated triglyceride levels and reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Its use is recommended together with dietary changes.
Mevastatin is a hypolipidemic agent that belongs to the statins class.
Pitavastatin is a member of the blood cholesterol lowering medication class of statins.
Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a genetic disorder characterized by high cholesterol levels, specifically very high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, in the blood and early cardiovascular diseases. The most common mutations diminish the number of functional LDL receptors in the liver or produce abnormal LDL receptors that never go to the cell surface to function properly. Since the underlying body biochemistry is slightly different in individuals with FH, their high cholesterol levels are less responsive to the kinds of cholesterol control methods which are usually more effective in people without FH. Nevertheless, treatment is usually effective.
The discovery of HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA) reductase inhibitors, called statins, was a breakthrough in the prevention of hypercholesterolemia and related diseases. Hypercholesterolemia is considered to be one of the major risk factors for atherosclerosis which often leads to cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and peripheral vascular diseases. The statins inhibit cholesterol synthesis in the body and that leads to reduction in blood cholesterol levels, which is thought to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and diseases caused by it.
Bempedoic acid, sold under the brand name Nexletol among others, is a medication for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia.
Fenofibrate/pravastatin, sold under the brand name Pravafenix, is a combination medication used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia in adults whose low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is already being controlled with pravastatin alone but who still need to improve their cholesterol levels and to reduce their levels of triglycerides. It contains fenofibrate and pravastatin. It is taken by mouth.
Cardiovascular agents are drugs used to treat diseases associated with the heart or blood vessels. These medications are available for purchase only with a physician’s prescription. They include, but are not limited to, drugs that target hypertension (antihypertensives), hyperlipidemia (antihyperlipidemics) and blood clotting (blood-thinners) to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.