Method for treating peripheral atherosclerotic disease employing a cholesterol lowering drug, an ace inhibitor, or a combination thereof

Abstract

A method is provided for treating peripheral atherosclerotic disease (arteriosclerosis obliterans) and/or intermittent claudication employing a cholesterol lowering drug such as an HMG CoA reductase inhibitor alone and/or an inhibitor of the enzyme squalene synthetase and optionally a pharmaceutical which reduces serum cholesterol by a mechanism other than inhibiting production of the enzyme HMG CoA reductase or the enzyme squalene synthetase, for example, probucol or gemfibrozil; employing an ACE inhibitor alone such as captopril or ceranapril; or a combination of a cholesterol lowering drug and an ACE inhibitor.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for treating intermittent claudication in a mammalian specie, which comprises administering to a mammalian specie in need of such treatment an effective amount of an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor alone or in combination with an effective amount of a cholesterol lowering drug. 
     
     
       2. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the cholesterol lowering drug is an inhibitor of the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase or an inhibitor of the enzyme squalene synthetase. 
     
     
       3. The method as defined in claim 2 wherein said inhibitor of the enzyme HMG CoA reductase is lovastain, pravastatin or velostatin. 
     
     
       4. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor is a mercapto containing ACE inhibitor. 
     
     
       5. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitior is a substituted proline derivative. 
     
     
       6. The method as defined in claim 5 wherein said angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor is captopril, zofenopril, enalapril, cernapril, fosinopril, lisinopril or fentiapril. 
     
     
       7. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor is a phosphonate substituted amino or imino acid or salt thereof, a proline derivative, a substituted proline derivative, a mercaptoacyl derivative of a substituted proline, a carboxyalkly dipeptide derivative, a phosphinylalkanoyl proline derivative or a phosphonamidate derivative. 
     
     
       8. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the angiotensin converting exzyme inhibitor is administered to a normotensive patient. 
     
     
       9. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the cholesterol lowering drug is present in a weight ratio to said ACE inhibitor of within the range of from about 0.001:1 to about 1000:1. 
     
     
       10. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the cholesterol lowering drug is pravastatin. 
     
     
       11. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the cholesterol lowering drug is pravastatin and the ACE inhibitor is captopril, fosinopril or ceranapril.