Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25478000›Full record

ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2014

Policosanol attenuates statin-induced increases in serum proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 when combined with atorvastatin.

Yuan-Lin Guo, Rui-Xia Xu, Cheng-Gang Zhu, Na-Qiong Wu, Zhi-Ping Cui, Jian-Jun Li

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Synergistic Effect of Banaba Leaf Extract and Policosanol (RaydelPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Comparison of the In Vivo Efficacy of Cuban (RaydelPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Acyclic Diterpene Phytol from Hemp Seed Oil (Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022
    Article
  14. Lipid Lowering Therapy and Circulating PCSK9 Concentration.Journal of atherosclerosis and thrombosis · 2017
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Yuan-Lin GuoDivision of Dyslipidemia, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fu Wai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, BeiLiShi Road 167, Beijing 100037, China.
Rui-Xia XuDivision of Dyslipidemia, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fu Wai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, BeiLiShi Road 167, Beijing 100037, China.
Cheng-Gang ZhuDivision of Dyslipidemia, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fu Wai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, BeiLiShi Road 167, Beijing 100037, China.
Na-Qiong WuDivision of Dyslipidemia, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fu Wai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, BeiLiShi Road 167, Beijing 100037, China.
Zhi-Ping CuiKenli County Hospital, Shandong 257500, China.
Jian-Jun LiDivision of Dyslipidemia, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fu Wai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, BeiLiShi Road 167, Beijing 100037, China.
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College · CNFu Wai Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective. Statin treatment alone has been demonstrated to significantly increase plasma proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) levels. The effect of policosanol combined with statin on PCSK9 is unknown. Methods. Protocol I: 26 patients with atherosclerosis were randomly assigned to receive either atorvastatin 20 mg/d or policosanol 20 mg/d + atorvastatin 20 mg/d for 8 weeks. Protocol II: 15 healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to either policosanol 20 mg/d or a control group for 12 weeks. Serum levels of PCSK9 were determined at day 0 and the end of each protocol. Results. Protocol I: atorvastatin 20 mg/d significantly increased serum PCSK9 level by 39.4% (256 ± 84 ng/mL versus 357 ± 101 ng/mL, P = 0.002). However, policosanol 20 mg/d + atorvastatin 20 mg/d increased serum PCSK9 level by only 17.4% without statistical significance (264 ± 60 ng/mL versus 310 ± 86 ng/mL, P = 0.184). Protocol II: there was a trend toward decreasing serum PCSK9 levels in the policosanol group (289 ± 71 ng/mL versus 235 ± 46 ng/mL, P = 0.069). Conclusion. Policosanol combined with statin attenuated the statin-induced increase in serum PCSK9 levels. This finding indicates that policosanol might have a modest effect of lowering serum PCSK9 levels.

Identifiers

PMID25478000
PMCPMC4247936
OpenAlexW2142231197

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.