Experimental ‘Polypill’ for Prevention of Heart Disease, Stroke Clears Hurdle
A daily pill that someday could be a cheaper, easier way to prevent heart disease and stroke has earned a passing grade in a major medical study.
Polycap, an experimental drug being developed by India-based Cadila Pharmaceuticals, combines aspirin and four blood pressure and cholesterol medicines into a single pill. A new study has found the drug is just as effective as the component drugs when taken separately and does not produce increased side effects.
People taking the drug as part of the research slashed their risk of stroke and heart disease in half, according to the study.
“Widely applied, this could have profound implications,” said Dr. Robert Harrington, chief of Duke University’s heart research institute.
Study Touts Polycap
Polycap contains low doses of the blood pressure drugs atenolol, ramiprio, and thiazide along with generic form of the cholesterol fighting drug Zocor and a 100-mg baby aspirin.
For the study, researchers focused on about 2,000 people with an average age of 45 and at least one activity which put them at increased risk of heart disease – smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, or high blood pressure. The study participants were being treated at 50 medical centers in India.
Four hundred people were given Polycap, while the rest were divided into smaller groups and given the single components of Polycap or combinations of the components for 12 weeks.
When compared to people who were given no blood pressure medicines, Polycap lowered systolic blood pressure by more than seven units and diastolic by about six, about the same as people who given the three drugs without aspirin and the cholesterol drug.
Polycap had the same anti-clotting effects as with aspirin alone, the study found. Also, Polycap did not produce more side effects than the medications did when taken alone.
One-Size-Fits-All Not for Everyone
More, larger studies will now be conducted to determine whether Polycap effectively cuts heart attacks and strokes. Researchers are cautioning that the single pill may not be for everyone looking to reduce the risks of the leading killers.
The pill must also earn approval from the Food and Drug Administration, which could object to the concept of a single dosage for all or a drug with only a few available doses.
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