Effect of micronised fenofibrate on the endothelial function in patients with hypertriglyceridemia

Objective:To investigate the effect of micronised fenofibrate on the endothelial function in patients with hypertriglyceridemia.Methods:With high resolution ultrasound, flow and nitroglycerin induced dilatation of the brachial artery were measured in thirty hypertriglyceridemic patients before and after the treatment with micronised fenofibrate at a dose of 200 mg once daily for 4 weeks and thirty healthy subjects as controls. Both serum lipid and plasma endothelin (ET) were also determined.Results:①In patients with hypertriglyceridemia, flow induced vasodilatation was much reduced compared with that in the control subjects[( 2.7 ± 2.0 )% vs ( 15.0 ± 8.0 )%, P 0.01 ]. However, vasodilatation in response to nitroglycerin were similar in both groups [( 15.0 ± 5.0 )% vs ( 16.8 ± 9.0 )%, P 0.05 ]. ②After micronised fenofibrate therapy, flow induced vasodilatation was improved [( 11.0 ± 9.0 )%, P 0.01 ], however, no significant change of vasodilatation in response to nitroglycerin was observed [( 16.2 ± 6.0 )%, P 0.05 ] in patients with hypertriglyceridemia. ③Plasma ET in hypertriglyceridemic patients was significantly higher than that in the control subjects [( 106.2 ± 19.2 )μg/L vs ( 72.4 ± 14.1 )μg/L, P 0.01 ]. After micronised fenofibrate therapy, both plasma ET [( 82.7 ± 15.5 )μg/L, P 0.01 ] and serum triglyceride (TG) decreased significantly (P 0.01 and P 0.05 ) in hypertriglyceridemic patients.Conclusion:Micronised fenofibrate therapy could improve the impaired endothelium dependent vasodilatation in patients with hypertriglyceridemia. Improving endothelial function may also be the mechanism for the beneficial effects of micronised fenofibrate.