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The present study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between sex hormones and coagulation-fibrinolysis system in postmenopausal women with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods and Results: 42 postmenopausal women with CDH were assigned to the patient group, 40 postmenopausal women without CDH were assigned as non-CHD group, and 30 healthy premenopausal women were selected as control. Estradiol (E2) was lower (P<0.05) in the patient group than other groups, but no difference in progesterone (P) and testosterone (T) among the three groups. Coagulation promoting factors such as fibrinogen (FIB), von Wilebrand factor (vWf) and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) were increased (P<0.05) in the patient group compared with other groups, and tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) activity was decreased (P<0.05). FIB, vWf and PAI-1 were negatively correlated with E2 (r=-0.246, -0.432, -0.369), t-PA was positively correlated with E2 (r=0.581), and there was no relationship between T and vWF, FIB, tPA and PAI-1. The decreases in E2 and t-PA, and the increase in vWF were dangerous factors in CHD. Conclusions: Estrogen was lower in the patient group than other groups. The decrease of estrogen may upregulate the activity of coagulation system and inhibit the activity of fibrinolysis system, which may be one factor of low CDH morbidity in premenopausal women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was undertaken to observe the combination therapy with acipimox and atorvastatin in high density lipoprotein deficiency (HDLD). Methods and results: Hyperlipidemia patients associated with HDLD were treated with atorvastatin (750mg/day, n=72), or acipimox (10mg/day, n=73), or a combination therapy (n=83) with atorvastain (750mg/day) and acipimox (10mg/day) for 6 months. Serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) increased by 21% in atorvastatin-treated patients, 43% in acipimox-treated patients and 56% in combination-treated patients. Serum total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG) reduced by 30%, 37% and 55% respectively in combination-treated patients, while TG reduced by 44% in acipimox-treated patients and 8% in patients treated with atorvastain. The effective rate of increasing HDL-C in combination therapy group was 62%, which was much higher than atorvastatin therapy group (26%) and acipimox therapy group (51%). The utility rates of decreasing TC, LDL-C and TG in combination therapy group were 51%, 55% and 61% respectively, and the total decreasing rate of the 3 indexes was 45%, which was higher than monotherapy by either drug. No adverse events happened during treatment period. Conclusion: The present study suggests that combination therapy with acipimox and atorvastatin is more effective than monotherapy in HDLD patients, and it is a safe therapeutic regimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]