Grapefruit juice and some statins do not mix, say British regulators

Main Category: Statins
Article Date: 02 Nov 2004 - 15:00 PDT



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'Grapefruit juice and some statins do not mix, say British regulators'

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The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says that certain cholesterol lowering drugs (statins), when taken with grapefruit juice can raise the patient's risk of muscle toxicity.

The MHRA said this was especially so with Zocor (simvastatin), of Merck & Co and Lipitor, of Pfizer.

There is a liver enzyme which is crucial for drug metabolism. Grapefruit juice suppresses the activity of this enzyme. If you drink grapefruit juice regularly, there is a risk that you will have raised levels of the statin in your bloodstream.

The MHRA said there is no significant risk with other statins such as Lescol (Novartis), Pravachol (Bristol Myers Squibb) and Crestor.(AstrraZeneca).

View drug information on Crestor; Lescol XL; Pravachol.


Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Visitor Opinions (latest shown first)

Followup Q About Grapefruit Juice Article

posted by Vernyce Dannells on 15 Feb 2005 at 6:49 pm

How does one know whether the generics for any of these drugs has a commensurate response to grapefruit juice?

| post followup | alert a moderator |


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'Grapefruit juice and some statins do not mix, say British regulators'

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Statins

What are Statins?

Statins are a class of medicines that are frequently used to lower blood cholesterol levels. The drugs are able to block the action of a chemical in the liver that is necessary for making cholesterol. Read more...

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