Routes ofadministration Oral Legal status US: Discontinued | ATC code C10AB01 (WHO) Molar mass 242.698 g/mol | |
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AHFS/Drugs.com Micromedex Detailed Consumer Information Pregnancycategory AU: B1US: C (Risk not ruled out) Protein binding Variable, 92–97% at therapeutic concentrations | ||
Clofibrate (tradename Atromid-S) is an organic compound. It is marketed as a fibrate. It is a lipid-lowering agent used for controlling the high cholesterol and triacylglyceride level in the blood. It increases lipoprotein lipase activity to promote the conversion of VLDL to LDL, and hence reduce the level of VLDL. It can increase the level of HDL as well.
Complications and controversies
It can induce SIADH, syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone ADH (vasopressin). Clofibrate can also result in formation of cholesterol stones in the gallbladder.
The World Health Organization Cooperative Trial on Primary Prevention of Ischaemic Heart Disease using clofibrate to lower serum cholesterol observed excess mortality in the clofibrate-treated group despite successful cholesterol lowering (47% more deaths during treatment with clofibrate and 5% after treatment with clofibrate) than the non-treated high cholesterol group. These deaths were due to a wide variety of causes other than heart disease, and remain "unexplained".
Clofibrate was discontinued in 2002 due to adverse effects.