Advicor Uses

Several conditions can be treated with Advicor. Uses for the drug include the treatment of high cholesterol and high triglycerides in the blood. Regular use of the medicine can help decrease total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, as well as increase HDL cholesterol. Advicor has not been approved for use in children, nor are there any currently accepted off-label Advicor uses.

 

Advicor Uses: An Overview

Advicor® (niacin extended-release/lovastatin) is a prescription medication that has been licensed to treat several conditions. These Advicor uses are as follows:
 

Advicor Uses: Treatment for High Cholesterol or Triglycerides

Advicor is used for treating high cholesterol in people who cannot lower cholesterol through lifestyle changes alone. Advicor can lower total cholesterol and LDL ("bad cholesterol"), as well as increase HDL ("good cholesterol"). Advicor has also been shown to lower triglyceride levels in the blood.
 

How Does Advicor Work?

Advicor is a combination medicine of niacin extended-release and lovastatin.
 Lovastatin is part of a class of drugs called statins. It works by blocking a particular enzyme (HMG-CoA reductase) that controls the rate of cholesterol production in the body. This causes the liver to make less cholesterol. It also increases the liver's ability to collect and get rid of LDL cholesterol.
 
Niacin, or nicotinic acid, is also used as a cholesterol-lowering medicine. How niacin works is not completely understood. It is thought to somehow decrease the release of triglycerides into the blood. It is also thought to decrease the amount of cholesterol made by the liver.
 
Because of the effects of lovastatin and niacin, Advicor decreases the following forms of cholesterol and fats:
 
  • Total cholesterol
  • LDL cholesterol 
  • Triglycerides.
     
Advicor also increases HDL cholesterol.
 
(Advicor Uses Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;