Multiple epidemiologic studies have demonstrated the relationship between cardiovascular mortality and elevated plasma cholesterol levels. Lipid-lowering therapy, particularly with hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins), has demonstrated survival benefit in both primary prevention (patients without evidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease [ASCVD]) an...

Background: Statins are hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors that reduce intracellular cholesterol synthesis by competitively inhibiting endogenous cholesterol synthesis rate limiting enzymes. Currently they are most used in the prevention of coronary heart disease. Aside on their cholesterol-lowering effect, statins are also anti-inflammatory in terms of their effects. Recent ...

The relaxant effect of the methyl ester of rosuvastatin was evaluated on aortic rings from male Wistar rats (250-300 g, 6 rats for each experimental group) with and without endothelium precontracted with 1.0 µM phenylephrine. The methyl ester presented a slightly greater potency than rosuvastatin in relaxing aortic rings, with log IC50 values of -6.88 and -6.07 M, respectively. Unlike rosuvasta...

Interindividual variability in low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (LDL-C) response during treatment with statins is well documented but poorly understood. To investigate potential metabolic and genetic determinants of statin responsiveness, 19 patients with refractory heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia were sequentially treated with placebo, atorvastatin (10 mg/d), bile acid sequ...

BACKGROUND The short-term effects of hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) on endothelial function at doses that do not affect plasma lipid levels are not known. METHODS AND RESULTS We investigated the short-term effects of cerivastatin, a hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor, on endothelial function and endothelium-related products in elderly diabeti...