Effect of sitosterol on the concentration of serum lipids in patients with coronary atherosclerosis
Riley, F.P.; Steiner, A.
Circulation 16(5): 723-729
1957
ISSN/ISBN: 0009-7322 PMID: 13473044 DOI: 10.1161/01.cir.16.5.723
Accession: 014025875
A colloidal sus-pension containing from 19 to 52.5 gm per day of B- and dihydro-B-sitosterol was administered orally to 13 patients with coronary atherosclerosis, 3 of whom had associated xanthomatosis. The serum total cholesterol concentration decreased during the 1 to 6 month periods of sitosterol ingestion. However, in only 9 of 18 instances of sitosterol administration in the 10 patients with coronary atherosclerosis was this fall in serum cholesterol statistically significant. In the 3 patients with xanthomatosis and coronary atherosclerosis, the serum cholesterol level fell significantly but rebounded toward control values after 6 to 9 weeks, despite the maintenance of the sitosterol regimen. The fall in mean serum total cholesterol during sitosterol feeding was more impressive in this latter group in which the initial serum total cholesterol values were higher. The effect on the neutral fat and total lipid levels of the serum was variable. The cholesterol/phospholipid ratio tended to remain unchanged throughout the study. Results obtained in this clinical study indicate that further observations are necessary in order to demonstrate that the fall in serum cholesterol coincident with sitosterol ingestion is greater than the fluctuation of the serum cholesterol levels that occur in patients with coronary atherosclerosis.