Abstract : OBJECTIVES To clarify whether reduced cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) activity carries in
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Abstract : OBJECTIVES To clarify whether reduced cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) activity carries inherent blood pressure risks and to infer whether the increased blood pressure and elevated mortality associated with torcetrapib are idiosyncratic or characteristic of this class of drugs.|PATIENTS AND METHODS We examined the associations among CETP genotype phenotype and blood pressure in a cohort of 521 older adults (who have complete data for the variables required in our primary analysis) enrolled between November 1 1998 and June 30 2003 in our ongoing studies of genes associated with longevity including a cohort with a high prevalence of a genotype coding for a reduced activity variant of CETP and low levels of CETP.|RESULTS The prevalence of hypertension was actually lower among homozygotes for the variant CETP (48 vs 60 among those with wild-type and 65 among heterozygotes P=.03). Low levels of CETP were associated with reduced prevalence of hypertension (65 in highest tertile 59 in middle tertile and 55 in lowest tertile P=.04) and lower systolic blood pressure (140.8 138.1 136.2 mm Hg respectively P=.03).|CONCLUSION: Reduced levels of CETP are associated with lower, not higher, blood pressure. The adverse results with torcetrapib, if mediated through blood pressure, are likely to represent effects of this specific drug, rather than a result of lower CETP levels.|
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