Effect of a Nutraceutical, Containing Red Yeast Rice and Polycosanols (Armolipid), on Lipid Profile in Children With Moderate and Severe Hypercholesterolemia.

This is a prospective single center cohort study conducted at Outpatient Lipid Unit of 2nd Department of Pediatrics of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens at the "Panagiotis & Aglaia Kyriakou" Children's Hospital in Greece. The study complies with the Declaration of Helsinki and the protocol was reviewed and approved by the appropriate ethical committee. Parental informed written consent was obtained prior to enrollment.

Study population: Ninety children and adolescents, aged 7 to 16 years, with primary dyslipidemia.

All participants had a positive family history for hypercholesterolemia (LDL > 95th percentile) and most of them had a positive family history for premature CVD (<55 years for males and <60 years for females) in first or/and second-degree relatives. Eleven of them had a genetically confirmed diagnosis of HeFH, while the rest had a probable or positive HeFH according to the Dutch Lipid Clinic Network criteria. None of them had moderate or significant hypertriglyceridemia, even those with increased body mass index (BMI).

All children followed a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet by a trained dietician and had moderate or intense physical activity, for at least 6 months before the participation in the study. In addition, during the last 6 months, 19 of them consumed 1.5 - 2.5g of plant sterols daily in the form of a yogurt drink or spread. Lifestyle and eating habits were maintained throughout the study.

A nutraceutical containing five natural substances formulated as a tablet with the commercial name Armolipid (Rottapharm S.p.A., Monza, Italia), was recommended in all participants. Every tablet contained 200 mg red yeast rice (RYR) extract equivalent to 3 mg of monacolin K, 10 mg policosanols, 0.2 mg folic acid, 2.0 mg coenzyme Q10 and 0.5 mg astaxanthin, and was citrinin-free. It was administered once-daily with lunch.