Miglė Montvidaitė1
1Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kaunas, Lithuania
Abstract
Background. Dyslipidemia is the imbalance of lipids in blood serum, which are usually increased. Typically, statins are the first-choice drug for the treatment of dyslipidemia, although they are often associated with adverse side effects and the target lipid concentration is not always achieved. According to latest research, bempedoic acid is another suitable medication for treating dyslipidemia.
Aim: to review the effectiveness of treatment of dyslipidemia with bempedoic acid based on recent literature. Methods. A literature review was performed using PubMed and ScienceDirect databases. Scientific articles were analyzed according to keywords and their combinations: dyslipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, bempedoic acid.
Results. Bempedoic acid is suitable for the treatment of primary hypercholesterolemia in adults, as well as an adjunct to statins or as an alternative when statin therapy is not tolerated or contraindicated. Scientific research reveals that bempedoic acid decreases low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by 17-24 percent. However, the most effective reduction of LDL cholesterol is achieved with the combined use of statins, bempedoic acid and ezetimibe, which is over 60 percent.
Conclusion. Bempedoic acid monotherapy is not as effective in the treatment of dyslipidemia compared to maximally tolerated statin therapy. However, administration of bempedoic acid in combination with statins and ezetimibe may be beneficial for patients who fail to achieve target lipid levels with statins. Bempedoic acid is also a suitable alternative in case of statin intolerance.
Keywords: dyslipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, bempedoic acid.