Medication niacin effects

Niacin can raise uric acid levels, and in diabetics can raise blood glucose levels. However, several clinical trials have shown that niacin can be used safely and effectively in patients with diabetes.33 Due to the high cardiovascular risk of patients with diabetes, the benefits of improving the lipid profile appear to outweigh any adjustment in diabetic medication(s) that is needed.33... 

In view of the current medical consensus that LDL cholesterol levels should be as low as possible, especially for people with a personal or family history of heart disease, and that all aspects of the lipid profile should be controlled as well, niacin is essential. One could also make a strong case for saying that a person at risk of having a heart attack or a stroke is not being effectively treated if he or she is not taking niacin as part of the total heart-healthy regimen. 

Sources Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorous, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Huoride (1997) Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin 85, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline (1998) EHetary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids (2000) Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc (2001) Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate (2005) and EHetary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D (2011). These reports may be accessed via www.nap.edu A Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) is the highest level of daily nutrient intake that is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects to almost all individuals in the general population. Unless otherwise specified, the UL represents total intake from food, water, and supplements. Due to a lack of suitable data, ULs could not be established for vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, biotin, and carotenoids. In the absence of a UL, extra caution may be warranted in consuming levels above recommended intakes. Members of the general population should be advised not to routinely exceed the UL. The UL is not meant to ply to individuals who are treated with the nutrient under medical supervision or to individuals with predisposing conditions that modify their sensitivity to the nutrient... 

Niacin is a water-soluble vitamin that has been available as a lipid-lowering medication and in prevention of atherosclerosis for half a century (Ganji et al. 2003 Olsson 2010). Numerous studies have documented its beneficial effects on reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) (Olsson 2010). Clinically, the most well-known effect of niacin deficiency is pellagra which, as noted above, is manifested by dermatitis, diarrhoea and dementia (Bodor and Offermanns 2008 Ganji, et al. 2003). In this chapter we look at the effects of niacin on human physiology and its consequent effects on disease states. 

Blankenhorn, D.H., Nessim, S.A., Johnson, R.L., Sanmarco, M.E., Azen, S.P., and Hemphill, L.C., 1987. Beneficial effects of combined colestipol-niacin therapy on coronary atherosclerosis and coronary venous bypass grafts. The Journal of the American Medical Association. 257 3233-3240. 

McKenney, J.M., Proctor, J.D., Harris, S., and Chinchili, V.M., 1994. A comparison of the efficacy and toxic effects of sustained- vs immediate-release niacin in hypercholesterolemic patients. Journal of the American Medical Association. 271 672-677. 

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