A high-profile U.S. study raising doubts about the heart-protective effects of niacin came under severe criticism at a recent American Heart Association (AHA) meeting. The Aim-High study (n = 3414) found that adding Abbott Laboratories Inc.’s Niaspan, a long-acting version of niacin, to cholesterol-lowering statins did not further prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other adverse events. However, Dr. Philip Barter of the Heart Research Institute in Sydney, Australia, said that this study was not properly designed to test the benefits of niacin. “This trial disturbs me greatly,” said Barter, who was designated by the AHA conference to critique the study. “The design was such that in no way could it test the hypothesis of raising HDL [high-density lipoprotein] or the benefit of niacin.” Barter said any conclusions on niacin must be suspended until the results of a much larger study involving a Merck & Co drug that includes niacin (n = 25 000) are released. That study is expected to be completed next year. “If that trial doesn’t show a positive effect, niacin is finished,” Barter said. “We shouldn’t draw any conclusions or change practice based on this.”
