Advicor is manufactured by Abbott Laboratories.
As mentioned, Advicor combines extended-release niacin 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 probably works in several ways to improve
cholesterol levels. Niacin is thought to work by increasing
HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol) levels by preventing the liver from removing HDL from the bloodstream. In addition, niacin seems to decrease the liver's production of LDL and
VLDL, two types of "bad" cholesterol. Niacin also helps decrease the release of fatty acids (from body fat) into the bloodstream.
Because of the effects of lovastatin and niacin, Advicor can help decrease the following forms of cholesterol and fats:
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