Zocor

Drugs

Generic Name: Simvastatin
Product Name: Zocor

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Used (in conjunction with diet therapy) for the treatment of high cholesterol (hypercholesterolaemia).
Used in patients with or at high risk of coronary heart disease (e.g. patients with diabetes, a history of vascular disease), with or without high cholesterol, as part of risk factor control to reduce cardiovascular death.

Zocor's (Simvastatin) chief metabolite is a HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, and therefore restricts the rate limiting step in cholesterol biosynthesis. Zocor only partially blocks cholesterol synthesis at an early stage, and so allows the production of the required amounts of cholesterol for biological functions, is not expected to cause an accumulation of potentially toxic sterols.
Simvastatin is well absorbed after oral administration and undergoes extensive first pass metabolism with CYP3A4
Maximum plasma concentrations of active metabolites occur within 1.3-2.4 hours post dose.

Dosage range: 10-80 mg/day
Patients with or at high risk of coronary heart disease: 40 mg/day, as a single evening dose.
Patients with hypercholesterolaemia and combined hyperlipidaemia: 10-20 mg/day as a single evening dose.
Concomitant therapy: Zocor is effective alone, or if used in conjunction with bile acid sequestrants. The dose should not exceed 10 mg/day in patients taking immunosuppressive agents, gemfibrozil, other fibrates, or niacin. In patients taking amiodarone or verapamil, the Zocor dose should not exceed 20 mg/day.
Impaired renal function: Renal excretion does not play a significant role in the drugs metabolism, however caution should be used in patients with severe renal insufficiency (creatinine clearance < 30 ml/min) and doses above 10 mg/day are should be carefully considered.

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