Treatment With Pantethine

Abstract

The current increase in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity is a growing burden for society. Consideration must therefore be given to compounds capable of slowing down these pathological processes without significant adverse effects. The natural vitamins pantetheine/pantothenic acid are major precursors of coenzyme A and acyl carrier protein, which are essential for fatty acid oxidation and participate in the metabolism of cholesterol and carbohydrates and in at least 70 other enzymatic processes. Following a number of theoretical considerations and clinical observations, various clinical studies have revealed that they possess significant beneficial effects. In particular, they demonstrate useful moderating effects on vascular pathological processes, lowering lipid levels, and inhibiting platelet functions and lipid peroxidation. Although they are natural, well-tolerated therapeutic agents, few controlled clinical trials have been conducted. The available data suggest the need for larger clinical trials and possible use of pantetheine/pantothenic acid as adjuvant therapy.