Sexual dysfunction after gemfibrozil

HMG CoA Reductase Inhibitors and Impotence

OBJECTIVE

HMG CoA Reductase inhibitors, more commonly called statins, are used in the pharmacological management of hyperlipidaemia. At present, the use of these drugs is increasing worldwide. They have been linked to certain adverse drug reactions, including impotence. The aim of the present study is to explore the basis of the association between statin use and impotence using data from spontaneous reports.

METHOD

We analysed the cases of impotence associated with statins that were collected by the Spanish and French pharmacovigilance systems. We used cases of impotence as a numerator and consumption data as a denominator to estimate the cumulative reported incidence of impotence.

RESULTS

Thirty-eight cases of impotence associated with statins have been identified in the database of the Spanish pharmacovigilance system; overall, there was a temporal sequence of events in all cases and the adverse reaction disappeared after drug withdrawal in 93% of the cases. Sixteen patients had also been treated with other drugs. In France, 37 cases were collected. In 85% of these cases recovery from the adverse reaction was observed after drug withdrawal; there was a positive rechallenge in five cases, and 15 patients were receiving other drugs at the same time. No significant differences among reported incidences with different statins were found.

CONCLUSION

Considering the widespread use of this drug class and the under-reporting of this particular reaction it could affect a large number of patients. The reaction seems to be reversible in most of the cases after drug withdrawal. Doctors should be aware of this potential adverse reaction when prescribing statins to their patients.

Neuropsychiatric effects of cardiovascular drug therapy

Various cardiovascular drugs have been shown to have neuropsychiatric effects that can be harmful or therapeutically beneficial to patients. As an example, both sedation and mental depression have been described in patients receiving centrally acting antihypertensive drugs and beta-adrenergic blockers, related to their antiadrenergic actions. In contrast, because of these antiadrenergic actions, agents like clonidine have been used to treat opiate, alcohol, and nicotine withdrawal, while beta blockers have been used to treat symptoms of performance anxiety, migraine, and psychocardiac disorders. Some antiarrhythmic drugs have been associated with delirium, and digitalis toxicity has been shown to cause hallucinations, mania, euphoria, and depression. The calcium-channel blocker verapamil has been used as an adjunctive treatment in patients with bipolar disorders. Since neuropsychiatric symptoms are seen in patients with cardiovascular disease, clinicians should be aware of the possible relationship between these symptoms and concurrent cardiovascular drug therapy.

Sexual dysfunction secondary to gemfibrozil

Hypertriglyceridemia is a well-recognized complication of protease inhibitor therapy, specifically ritonavir. Fibrate derivatives are recommended as first-line therapy for isolated triglyceride elevations, and gemfibrozil has been successful for managing protease inhibitor-induced lipid changes. A 35-year-old man experienced sexual dysfunction 3 weeks after starting gemfibrozil. The temporal relationship and improvement in sexual function after the drug was discontinued suggest that gemfibrozil may have been responsible for his sexual dysfunction.

Gemfibrozil treatment of hypertriglyceridemia: improvement on fibrinolysis without change of insulin resistance

The fibrinolytic and metabolic changes associated with gemfibrozil treatment of hypertriglyceridemia were evaluated in 16 patients with type IV hyperlipidemia by criteria of triglyceride levels > 250 mg/dl and total cholesterol levels < 220 mg/dl. The plasma triglyceride level was significantly lower (323 +/- 71 vs 189 +/- 57 mg/dl; p = 0.000) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level significantly higher (33.5 +/- 4.6 vs 38.0 +/- 6.7 mg/dl; p = 0.005) after 3 to 4 months of gemfibrozil treatment. However, the glucose and insulin metabolism measured by oral glucose challenge and insulin suppression tests showed no significant changes after gemfibrozil therapy. In contrast, plasma plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 antigen (36.9 +/- 12.4 vs 27.3 +/- 11.4 ng/ml; p = 0.008) and activity (15.5 +/- 5.5 vs 11.8 +/- 3.0 IU/ml; p = 0.009) and tissue plasminogen activator antigen (13.2 +/- 4.0 vs 10.4 +/- 3.7 ng/ml; p = 0.007) were significantly depressed, and tissue plasimogen activator activity (0.57 +/- 0.31 vs 0.69 +/- 0.38 IU/ml; p = 0.015) was significantly elevated by gemfibrozil. The data indicate that lowering plasma triglyceride and raising high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels by gemfibrozil treatment also improved the fibrinolytic system without changes of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance in patients with isolated hypertriglyceridemia.

Gemfibrozil. A reappraisal of its pharmacological properties and place in the management of dyslipidaemia

Gemfibrozil improves lipid and apolipoprotein profiles, particularly very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) triglyceride and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels, in patients with dyslipidaemia when administered at a total daily dose of 900 or 1200 mg. As demonstrated by the Helsinki Heart Study, these effects result in a reduction in some risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) and also a 34% reduction in the incidence of this disease after 5 years compared with placebo. Limited data suggest that gemfibrozil has beneficial effects on the fibrinolytic system and may slow the progression of atherosclerosis. Gemfibrozil has shown efficacy in the treatment of patients with type IIa, IIb, III, IV or V dyslipidaemia or hypoalphalipoproteinaemia, especially in patients with elevated triglyceride and low HDL cholesterol levels. It is also effective in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and dyslipidaemia and has no detrimental effects on glycaemic control. A small number of studies also showed gemfibrozil to be effective for the control of dyslipidaemia associated with renal failure, transplantation, nephrotic syndrome, arterial occlusive disease or systemic lupus erythematosus. However, patients with pre-existing CHD do not appear to derive the same benefits (reduced CHD mortality) from gemfibrozil therapy as these other patients, although results are based on studies of limited size and number. In general, gemfibrozil has at least similar efficacy to bile acid sequestrants and other fibric acid derivatives. Comparisons with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors show these agents to produce different effects on lipid profiles from gemfibrozil. Thus, gemfibrozil would be expected to be superior in some patients (those with elevated triglyceride or VLDL cholesterol levels), but HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors should have greater benefits in those with elevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Thus, in patients with elevated triglyceride levels and low HDL cholesterol levels, and, particularly in patients with NIDDM, gemfibrozil is a useful treatment option, which has been shown to reduce the risk of CHD in middle aged men. However, limited available data prevents the accurate comparison of this agent with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors in patients with this lipid profile.