Does adding niacin to statins shrink artery gunk better?
MRI-measured regression of carotid atherosclerosis induced by statins with and without niacin in a randomised controlled trial: the NIA plaque study
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists tested if adding a supplement called niacin to statins helps older people shrink fatty buildups in neck arteries more than statins alone.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
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Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists tested if adding a supplement called niacin to statins helps older people shrink fatty buildups in neck arteries more than statins alone.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 570 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Sibley CT, Vavere AL, Gottlieb I, Cox C, Matheson M, Spooner A, Godoy G, Fernandes V, Wasserman BA, Bluemke DA, Lima JA
Related Content
Claims (5)
Statins do not induce significant regression of established atherosclerotic plaque but reduce plaque progression and enhance plaque stability by lowering LDL cholesterol exposure to arterial walls.
For older adults with hardened arteries who are already taking statins to lower their bad cholesterol, adding a common supplement called niacin doesn’t make the plaque in their neck arteries shrink any more than statins alone—even though it raises their good cholesterol.
Even without niacin, statins alone can shrink plaque in the neck arteries of older adults with heart disease, as long as their bad cholesterol is kept low.
Niacin can raise good cholesterol in older heart patients, but even though it does that well, it doesn’t help shrink artery plaque any more than statins alone.
Niacin helps lower triglycerides more than statins alone in older heart patients, cutting them from 1.5 to 1.0 mmol/L, while statins alone only lower them a little.