Preliminary Study of Safety and Efficacy of Policosanol

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2009-09-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Lay Language Summary: High cholesterol levels are common in persons with HIV infection. However, conventional cholesterol-lowering medications may have harmful side effects when given to HIV-infected persons. Therefore, we plan to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of policosanol, a dietary supplement derived from sugar cane that has cholesterol-lowering properties, to lower cholesterol levels in persons with HIV infection. We hypothesize that policosanol will lower levels of LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) and raise levels of HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol).

• Phase: Phase 2
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Rush University Medical Center
• Collaborator: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
• Treatments: Policosanol

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

CD4 count > 250 Plasma HIV RNA < 50,000 Currently receiving HAART age 18-60 total cholesterol between 200-240 or triglycerides between 150-400 or LDL cholesterol > 160

Exclusion Criteria:

kidney or liver disease current use of lipid-lowering drugs pregnancy lactation

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