The term niacin is the generic name for the two compounds nicotinic acid and nicotinamide, the major dietary precursors for two important coenzymes, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and its phosphorylated form, NADP. Niacin is important for the maintenance of cellular integrity and energy production and is involved in more than 500 intracellular reactions. Deficiencies of niacin may cont...

BACKGROUND Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is a cytoprotective protein whose expression is consistently associated with therapeutic benefits in a number of pathological conditions such as atherosclerotic vascular disease and inflammation. Niacin is a pleiotropic drug that slows the progression of coronary artery disease and increases serum levels of the HO-1 enzymatic product bilirubin. This study asks...

OBJECTIVES This study sought to assess the efficacy of niacin for reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, as indicated by the aggregate body of clinical trial evidence including data from the recently published AIM-HIGH (Atherothrombosis Intervention in Metabolic Syndrome with Low HDL/High Triglycerides: Impact on Global Health Outcomes) trial. BACKGROUND Previously available randomized...

Objective(s) This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of niacin on glucocorticoid-induced dyslipidemia and fatty liver in rats. Materials and Methods Twenty four adult male rats were divided randomly into four equal groups: 1- normal saline (control), 2- dexamathasone 0.125 mg/kg/day, i.m., 3- dexamathasone + niacin 200 mg/kg/day, oral gavages, 4- niacin. After 2 weeks, serum total c...

Positive role of niacin on serum lipid profile of rats treated with glucocorticoids (GCs) has been reported. This study aims to evaluate effect of niacin on bone changes in GC-induced dyslipidemic rats. A number of 28 growing rats divided into four groups and treated as control, Methyl prednisolone (MP) group (3.5 mg/kg five days a week, SC); MPN group (MP + niacin 200 mg/kg/day orally) and MPA...

Administration of pharmacological niacin doses was recently reported to have pronounced effects on skeletal muscle gene expression and phenotype in obese Zucker rats, with the molecular mechanisms underlying the alteration of gene expression being completely unknown. Since miRNAs have been shown to play a critical role for gene expression through inducing miRNA-mRNA interactions which results i...

BACKGROUND Niacin induces the release of vasodilating prostaglandins, for which receptors are present within the pulmonary arterial circulation. We hypothesized that immediate-release niacin would reduce right ventricular systolic pressure in patients with pulmonary hypertension in a randomized, double-blinded, single-dose provocation study. METHODS We recruited inpatient subjects with a Dopp...

BACKGROUND Combination therapy to improve the total lipid profile may achieve greater coronary risk reductions than lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) alone. A new extended-release niacin (niacin ER)/lovastatin tablet substantially lowers LDL-C, triglyceride, and lipoprotein(a) levels and raises high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level. We evaluated these serum lipid...

In this report, we describe a potential drug interaction between niacin and the hepatic radiopharmaceutical technetium-99mlabeled sulfur colloid ~9mTc-SC). A patient was admitted with a diagnosis of acute hepatitis caused by her sustained-release niacin therapy. Diffuse lung accumulation of mTc-SC was seen on her liver/spleen images. This is the first report of pulmonary localization of 9mTc-SC...