Non-diabetics with heart disease who take the diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone) together with the cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor (simvastatin) appear to reduce their risk of heart attacks, according to German researchers reporting in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The researchers report taking the two drugs appears to lower the level of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation and a possible warning sign for increased risk of heart attack and heart disease.

In the study, lead author Dr. Markolf Hanefeld, director of the Center for Clinical Studies at GWI-TU in Dresden, and colleagues randomly selected 125 people with heart disease, but who did not suffer from diabetes, to receive Actos alone, Zocor alone, or Actos plus Zocor.

The researchers measured the levels of C-reactive protein and insulin resistance at the beginning and the end of the 12-week trial.

While the patients appeared to have a reduction in insulin resistance, those aking the Actos/Zocor combination also had significantly reduced levels of C-reactive protein.

"Although treatment with each drug in monotherapy significantly improved several risk markers for cardiovascular disease, only the combination of pioglitazone and simvastatin, with its synergistic effect, seemed to have full anti-inflammatory potency and impact on the whole risk profile of patients with cardiovascular disease," the researchers concluded.