Serum fibrinogen improves, too: triglycerides don't alter raloxifene's lipid effects.(Gynecology)

NEW ORLEANS -- Raloxifene is equally effective at improving serum lipids and fibrinogen in postmenopausal osteoporotic women regardless of whether they are hypertriglyceridemic or not, Dr. Thomas Dayspring said at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology.

It must be stressed, however, that it has not yet been established that these benefits upon the risk profile of postmenopausal women translate into an actual reduction in cardiovascular events, noted Dr. Dayspring of the North Jersey Institute of Menopausal Lipidology, Wayne, N.J.

Raloxifene is approved for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women. Interest in its cardioprotective potential was largely sparked by a posthoc analysis of the Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene Evaluation (MORE) trial, which showed a 40% reduction in cardiovascular events with raloxifene, compared with placebo, in the subset of participants at increased cardiovascular risk.

Women with coronary heart disease are more likely to have abnormally high triglyceride and low HDL levels than to have elevated total and LDL cholesterol. But raloxifene is known to have little effect upon serum ...