Octacosanol in human health

In summary, octacosanol has many uses for treating various conditions. The most widely studied of these are its cholesterol-lowering properties, and many studies have shown that octacosanol is very effective in lowering LDL and increasing HDL. In addition, it has been shown that policosanol is as effective as aspirin in terms of its antiaggregatory effects. Perhaps octacosanol could be given as a single supplement to patients with high LDL cholesterol and perhaps hypertension or high risk of clot formation. Octacosanol (policosanol) also offers cytoprotective effects. This affords an opportunity for octacosanol to be taken as an alternative to aspirin in patients who have a history of or suffer from gastric irritation. Thus, octacosanol could be an ideal alternative in three types of conditions, which commonly occur simultaneously. High LDL cholsterol in relation to hypertension, where an antiaggregatory agent is required but the patient suffers gastric irritation. Because only one type of medication is needed, patients would have a high degree of compliance. More studies should investigated whether there are any long-term problems with octacosanol. With regard to the use of octacosanol as a nutritional supplement by athletes, this could be advantageous because some studies have suggested that octacosanol can improve stamina and exercise capability. However, many claims for improving athletic performance have yet to be proven. Few studies have investigated combinations of octacosanol with other treatments. There may be problems or benefits in taking medication that has the same indication. If, for example, a statin were taken with octacosanol, the combined effects might be extremely beneficial because LDL cholesterol levels almost definitely would be lowered. However, problems would arise if octacosanol were to be taken with anticoagulation therapy, such as warfarin or aspirin, because octacosanol may act synergistically and an overdose could have drastic consequences. Because there are no defined limits of octacosanol dosing, patients may be inclined to take more tablets and this could result in a risk of hemorrhage. There also may be contraindications with other therapy, so patients on multiple therapy should take octacosanol with caution. Octacosanol has the potential to treat numerous conditions without major side effects and thus would be beneficial to many patients. Also, there are opportunities for octacosanol to be taken as a dual-action treatment for hypertension and high cholesterol, with no gastric irritation or muscle problems. This could be an important drug for the future, with the ever-increasing problem of obesity and increased risk of atherosclerosis and CHD throughout the world.