1.
Atorvastatin decreases elevated soluble CD40L in subjects at high cardiovascular risk. Atorvastatin on inflammatory markers study: a substudy of ACTFAST.
Blanco-Colio, LM, Martín-Ventura, JL, de Teresa, E, Farsang, C, Gaw, A, Gensini, G, Leiter, LA, Langer, A, Martineau, P, Egido, J, et al
Kidney international. Supplement. 2008;(111):S60-3
Abstract
The CD40/CD40 ligand plays a role in the inflammatory and prothrombotic processes in atherosclerosis. We analyzed whether short-term treatment with atorvastatin affects soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) plasma levels in subjects at high cardiovascular risk. sCD40L plasma concentrations were measured in 852 subjects from the Atorvastatin on Inflammatory Markers (AIM) Study, a 12-week prospective multicenter, open-label trial which enrolled statin-free subjects with coronary heart disease (CHD), CHD-equivalent (diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, or cerebrovascular disease), or a 10-year CHD risk >20%. Subjects were assigned to atorvastatin (10-80 mg/day) based on LDL-C at screening. Overall, sCD40L levels were not different in patients at high cardiovascular risk compared with healthy subjects. When sCD40L levels were divided in quartiles, patients in the highest quartile (N=213) had higher sCD40L concentrations than age- and gender-matched healthy subjects (N=29) (P<0.0001). Interestingly, all doses of atorvastatin significantly diminished sCD40L levels in subjects at the highest quartile. Furthermore, atorvastatin treatment decreased sCD40L more markedly in subjects with metabolic syndrome compared with those without metabolic syndrome. In conclusion, atorvastatin diminishes sCD40L plasma levels, more markedly so in subjects with metabolic syndrome. Our results indicate that short-term treatment with atorvastatin exhibits anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic effects in subjects at high cardiovascular risk.
2.
Effect of atorvastatin on bone mineral density in patients with acute coronary syndrome.
Pérez-Castrillón, JL, Abad, L, Vega, G, Sanz-Cantalapiedra, A, García-Porrero, M, Pinacho, F, Dueñas, A
European review for medical and pharmacological sciences. 2008;(2):83-8
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effect of atorvastatin on bone mineral density in patients with acute ischemic heart disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS Eighty-three patients (52 male and 31 female) with acute coronary syndrome were studied. They received treatment with atorvastatin using low doses (20 mg) and high doses (40 mg-80 mg). Initial and final cholesterol, triglyceride, calcium, phosphorus, 25-hydroxyvitamin D were obtained from every patient. Spine and hip bone mineral density were performed at the beginning and one year later. RESULTS Atorvastatin treatment increases vitamin D (33%, p = 0.007) and decreases the individuals with vitamin D insufficiency. Bone mineral density increased in the spine (1.31%, p = 0.02), but it was significant only in male and patients presenting vitamin D levels higher than 30 nmol/l. CONCLUSION Atorvastatin has a beneficial effect on bone metabolism in patients with acute ischemic heart disease (mainly males) by incrementing bone mineral density in which vitamin D levels are required to be higher than 30 nmol/l for the drug to be effective.