Drug Classes: Fenofibric Acid Derivatives

Used to treat: In conjuction with diet and exercise to lower LDL, total cholesterol, triglycerides, & apolipoprotein

Mechanism of Action: Inhibit triglyceride synthesis

Contraindications: Hepatic impairment (including biliary cirrhosis), gallbladder disease, severe renal impairment, may increase effects of warfarin and HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors

Lipid Dysfunction: High Cholesterol and Its Effects

High Cholesterol, hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, dyslipidemia - while not completely interchangeable, they're all commonly used to refer to the same problem. High cholesterol, however is actually a misnomer. There are two types of cholesterol, high-density lipoprotien (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (Technically there is a third "very low density lipoprotein," but for the purposes of this discussion, we're going to include them in the LDL). LDL is the "bad" cholesterol and when the doctor refers to patient as having high cholesterol, this is the number that they're worried about. HDL is good cholesterol and doctors typically want this number to be high.