Along with the recommendation of exercise and a healthy diet (including a bit of red wine daily), both lovastatin and cholestyramine can be used in the treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia (1;2).
While lovastatin works as a HMG CoA reductase inhibitor to reduce cholesterol synthesis in the liver, cholestyramine acts as a bile acid-binding resin that increases fecal removal of cholesterol (1p152;3-4).
Reference List
1. Gropper SS, Smith JL, Groff JL. Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2009.
2. Netdoctor.co.uk. Familial hypercholesterolemia. Available at: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/familialhypercholesterolaemia.htm.
3. Netdoctor.co.uk. Questran (colestyramine). Available at: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100002209.html.
4. Medicine.net. Lovastatin (oral). Available at: http://www.medicinenet.com/lovastatin-oral/article.htm.
