Raloxifene slows atherosclerosis?

The selective estrogen receptor modulator raloxifene lowers the risk of intima-media thickness (IMT) progression in postmenopausal women by about 40%, according to the results of a recent prospective study.

The study involved 155 healthy postmenopausal women who received either raloxifene 60 mg/d or placebo for 18 months.

Not only was the progression slope of carotid IMT more favorable in the raloxifene group than in the placebo group (0.0112 mm/18 mo vs. 0.0857 mm/18 mo, respectively; P<0.004), but the women taking raloxifene experienced significant decreases in plasma triglycerides (P<0.02), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P<0.02), soluble forms of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (P<0.005) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (P<0.04), E-selectin (P<0.02), interleukin-6 (P<0.005), tumor necrosis factor α (P<0.005) levels, and in the homeostatic model assessment index (P<0.005), and a significant increase in plasma adiponectin levels (P<0.001).