一项发表在《PLoS One》上的新研究显示，4种常用药物的组合疗法可大大降低胆固醇水平，降低罹患心脏病的风险。
世界卫生组织和威康信托基金在英国、美国、澳大利亚、巴西和印度等多个国家开展了一项全球性试验，结果发现，4种常用药（阿司匹林、两种降压药和一种降胆固醇药）的组合疗法可使心脏病和中风的发作风险降低50%以上。
在Sir Nicholas Wald教授和Malcolm Law发表文章指出一种药丸可使罹患心脏病的风险降低80%之后，十年来，该复方制剂（Polypill）已被广泛地研究。
该试验的结果表明，这种药丸在不久的将来即将上市，为多种疾病提供保护。
首席研究员Anthony Rodgers教授表示，该复方制剂含有阿司匹林，意味着其可防止许多疾病，包括癌症等。他说：“我们从其他试验了解到，长期服用将可使结肠癌的死亡率降低25%-50%，对于其他主要癌症、心力衰竭和肾功能衰竭，则降低的更多。”
生物探索推荐英文论文摘要：
An International Randomised Placebo-Controlled Trial of a Four-Component Combination Pill (“Polypill”) in People with Raised Cardiovascular Risk
Background There has been widespread interest in the potential of combination cardiovascular medications containing aspirin and agents to lower blood pressure and cholesterol (‘polypills’) to reduce cardiovascular disease. However, no reliable placebo-controlled data are available on both efficacy and tolerability.
Methods We conducted a randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled trial of a polypill (containing aspirin 75 mg, lisinopril 10 mg, hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg and simvastatin 20 mg) in 378 individuals without an indication for any component of the polypill, but who had an estimated 5-year cardiovascular disease risk over 7.5%. The primary outcomes were systolic blood pressure (SBP), LDL-cholesterol and tolerability (proportion discontinued randomised therapy) at 12 weeks follow-up.
Findings At baseline, mean BP was 134/81 mmHg and mean LDL-cholesterol was 3.7 mmol/L. Over 12 weeks, polypill treatment reduced SBP by 9.9 (95% CI: 7.7 to 12.1) mmHg and LDL-cholesterol by 0.8 (95% CI 0.6 to 0.9) mmol/L. The discontinuation rates in the polypill group compared to placebo were 23% vs 18% (RR 1.33, 95% CI 0.89 to 2.00, p = 0.2). There was an excess of side effects known to the component medicines (58% vs 42%, p = 0.001), which was mostly apparent within a few weeks, and usually did not warrant cessation of trial treatment.
Conclusions This polypill achieved sizeable reductions in SBP and LDL-cholesterol but caused side effects in about 1 in 6 people. The halving in predicted cardiovascular risk is moderately lower than previous estimates and the side effect rate is moderately higher. Nonetheless, substantial net benefits would be expected among patients at high risk.
