Gemfibrozil Reduces Plasma C-Reactive Protein Levels in Abdominally Obese Men With the Atherogenic Dyslipidemia of the Metabolic Syndrome

To the Editor: Recent data from Veterans Affairs High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Intervention Trial (VA-HIT) have recently reported that pharmacological treatment with a fibrate (gemfibrozil) significantly reduced coronary heart disease (CHD) risk among men with a history of CHD who had low HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels at baseline evaluation.1 Moreover, this study also demonstrated that changes in the lipoprotein-lipid profile only partially explained the beneficial effect of gemfibrozil on CHD risk, suggesting that other factors may be responsible for the reduction in the risk of CHD observed among patients undergoing fibrate therapy.2 On the other hand, the contribution of inflammation to the development of atherosclerosis and CHD is increasingly recognized, and recent studies have identified some inflammatory markers, such as plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) and cytokines, as CHD risk factors.3,4 ⇓ Recent data have suggested that statins and fibrates may favorably decrease markers of inflammation.5–8 ⇓ ⇓ ⇓ However, the effect of fibrates among abdominally obese men with the atherogenic dyslipidemia of the metabolic syndrome (a condition associated with markedly elevated inflammatory markers) has, to the best of our knowledge, never been reported. Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine the effect of a 6-month fibrate treatment on plasma CRP concentrations and cytokine levels such as interleukin …