Question

Calvin is a 15-year-old, obese young man with severely elevated serum lipid levels. The healthcare team has decided to prescribe lovastatin (Mevacor).

a) What are the concerns for teenagers who are taking lovastatin?

b) What classification of lipid-lowering medication is lovastatin, and how does it work?

c) What impact does weight, specifically obesity, have on lipid levels?

Answer 1

a)Lovastatin is used together with a proper diet to lower cholestrol and triglyceride levels in blood.It may help prevent medical problems like chest pain,heart attack,stroke etc caused by clogged blood vessels.It may also be used to prevent certain types of heart and blood vessel problem in patients with risk factors for heart problems.

b)lovastatin belongs to the group of medicines called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors or statins.It is a pro drug ,an inactive lactone in its native form.It works to reduce the amount of cholestrol in the blood by blocking an enzyme that is neede by the body to make cholestrol.It helps in the prevention of cardio-vascular diseases.

c)Being obese puts a person in a high risk of high cholestrol or lipid levels.Its the specific changes in the cholestrol panels ,a test that breaks down the different types of cholestrol and other blood fats.In obesity these triglycerides or LDL or bad cholestrol becomes high and good cholestrol becomes low.