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Impact of pitavastatin on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and adiponectin in hypercholesterolemic patients with the metabolic syndrome: the PREMIUM Study.
Matsubara, T, Naruse, K, Arakawa, T, Nakao, M, Yokoi, K, Oguri, M, Marui, N, Amano, T, Ichimiya, S, Ohashi, T, et al
Journal of cardiology. 2012;(5):389-94
Abstract
BACKGROUND Inflammatory reactions and oxidative stress, which are important in progression of atherosclerosis, are reported to be increased in individuals with metabolic syndrome (MetS). On the other hand, adiponectin levels are lowered. Since effects of pitavastatin on these parameters have not been reported in hypercholesterolemic patients with MetS, the present study was conducted. PURPOSE To evaluate the effects of pitavastatin on inflammatory reaction, oxidative stress, and plasma adiponectin levels in hypercholesterolemic MetS patients in a multicenter trial. METHODS This open-label, single group study was performed at 7 hospitals in Japan. Pitavastatin (2mg/day) was administered to 103 consecutive patients with hypercholesterolemia, subdivided into MetS and non-MetS for 12 weeks. Blood samples were collected after overnight fasting at the start of treatment (baseline) and after 12 weeks. RESULTS In the patients with MetS (n=69), mean values of plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were significantly higher and mean values of plasma high-molecular-weight (HMW)-adiponectin significantly lower than in their counterparts without MetS (n=34). The baseline HMW-adiponectin and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) values significantly correlated only in the MetS patients (r=0.318; p=0.01). In an effectiveness analysis including 94 patients (62 with MetS, 32 without MetS), the level of hs-CRP was significantly decreased in patients with MetS during the drug treatment, whereas HMW-adiponectin did not change. When patients with MetS were divided into two subgroups according to the percent changes in HDL-C, significantly greater increase in HMW-adiponectin by pitavastatin treatment was observed in the HDL-C ≥10% increase subgroup than in the HDL-C <10% increase subgroup (p=0.009). CONCLUSION Twelve weeks administration of pitavastatin, in addition to the antihyperlipidemic effects, may be beneficial as an anti-atherosclerotic therapy in hypercholesterolemic patients with MetS, taking changes in hs-CRP and HMW-adiponectin into consideration. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00444717.
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The effect of rosuvastatin on incident pneumonia: results from the JUPITER trial.
Novack, V, MacFadyen, J, Malhotra, A, Almog, Y, Glynn, RJ, Ridker, PM
CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne. 2012;(7):E367-72
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Evidence from observational studies have raised the possibility that statin treatment reduces the incidence of certain bacterial infections, particularly pneumonia. We analyzed data from a randomized controlled trial of rosuvastatin to examine this hypothesis. METHODS We analyzed data from the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled JUPITER trial (Justification for the Use of Statins in Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin). In this trial, 17,802 healthy participants (men 50 years and older and women 60 and older) with a low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level below 130 mg/dL (3.4 mmol/L) and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2.0 mg/L or greater were randomly assigned to receive either rosuvastatin or placebo. We evaluated the incidence of pneumonia on an intention-to-treat basis by reviewing reports of adverse events from the study investigators, who were unaware of the treatment assignments. RESULTS Among 17,802 trial participants followed for a median of 1.9 years, incident pneumonia was reported as an adverse event in 214 participants in the rosuvastatin group and 257 in the placebo group (hazard ratio [HR] 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.69-1.00). In analyses restricted to events occurring before a cardiovascular event, pneumonia occurred in 203 participants given rosuvastatin and 250 given placebo (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.67-0.97). Inclusion of recurrent pneumonia events did not modify this effect (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.67-0.98), nor did adjustment for age, sex, smoking, metabolic syndrome, lipid levels and C-reactive protein level. INTERPRETATION Data from this randomized controlled trial support the hypothesis that statin treatment may modestly reduce the incidence of pneumonia. (ClinicalTrials.gov trial register no. NCT0023968.).