The Hypocholesterolemic Effect of Nicotinic Acid and its Relationship to the Autonomic Nervous System

Nicotinic acid, well known physiologically and chemically as a vitamin if administered in small quantities, has many interesting additional properties when given in relatively large amounts. Altschul (2, 3) found that it markedly decreased the levels of cholesterol in rabbits made hypercholesterolemic by diet, and Altschul, Hoffer and Stephen (4) found that in divided dosages of three grams per day this vitamin produced appreciable decreases in the cholesterol levels of healthy young subjects and in patients from a general hospital. The decrease was related linearly to the initial cholesterol levels while the percentage decrease increased as the initial cholesterol levels were elevated. The incorporation of nicotinic acid into atherogenic diets inhibited the development of arteriosclerosis in rabbits (Altschul (2)). Of seventeen animals tested, two showed intense arteriosclerosis, six showed mild change, and nine showed no arteriosclerosis. Without nicotinic acid, at least thirteen of the rabbits would have had severe arteriosclerosis on the basis of many previous studies by Altschul (2) and by many other investigators.