This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Treatment

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease. If LDL-cholesterol is greater than 3 then often the treatment of choice is a statin.

With respect to specific treatment of Lp(a):

  • fish oils seem to reduce Lp(a) concentrations (1), but more work is needed to confirm this
  • statins do not reduce Lp(a) levels (2)
    • statins, fibrates or ezetimibe are without effect on Lp(a) levels
  • nicotinic acid is effective in reducing Lp(a) concentrations (3). However the flushing, hepatotoxicity and ototoxicity associated with this treatment must be considered
  • PCSK9 inhibitors reduce Lp(a) (6)

Other factors that reduce Lp(a):

  • L-Carnitine, which is a naturally occurring compound playing a role in fatty acid metabolism, seems to moderately decrease Lp(a) concentrations by about 20%. It is well tolerated (4)
  • tibolone, a synthetic steroid with weak estrogenic, progestagenic, and androgenic properties, has been shown to decrease Lp(a) levels(4)
  • androgenic anabolic steroids have been shown to decrease Lp(a) levels (4)
  • hormone replacement therapy (5)

Diet and exercise also do not appear to significantly influence Lp(a) concentrations.

Reference:


Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.