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Rosuvastatin Improves Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors
American Journal of Cardiology
04/09/2003
By David Loshak
Rosuvastatin greatly improves the constellation of risk factors known as the metabolic syndrome, say researchers.
This syndrome increases the risk of coronary artery disease at any level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
Among patients who met the criteria for the metabolic syndrome and who had triglyceride levels of at least 200 mg/dL, nearly two-thirds (64%) met their non-high density lipoprotein goals as set out in the modified National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III, report specialists at the Methodist DeBakey Heart Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States.
The researchers performed an exploratory analysis of data from five trials to study the effects of rosuvastatin 10 mg. on lipid levels and ratios in hypercholesterolaemic patients (low density lipoprotein cholesterol of 160-250 mg/dL) who met the Adult Treatment Panel III definition of the metabolic syndrome.
Of 580 patients completing 12 weeks of treatment with the rosuvastatin, 194 (33.4%) met the definition of the metabolic syndrome by exhibiting at least three of a set of risk factors: body mass index exceeding 30, triglycerides at least 150 mg/dL, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol below 40 mg/dL in men and below 50 mg/dL in women, systolic blood pressure of at least 130/85 mm Hg or receiving current medication for hypertension, and fasting blood glucose of at least 110 mg/dL.
At baseline, patients with the metabolic syndrome had higher levels of triglycerides, non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and lipid ratios, and lower levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-I than patients who did not have the metabolic syndrome.
It was found that rosuvastatin nearly halved the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, reducing it by 47%.
Rosuvastatin also reduced non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol by 43%, the ratio of non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol to high density lipoprotein cholesterol by 47%, apolipoprotein B by 37%, the ratio of apolipoprotein B to apolipoprotein A-I by 40% and triglycerides by 23%.
Apolipoprotein A-I was raised by 7% and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 10%.
These improvements occurred in a manner similar to that in hypercholesterolaemic patients who did not meet the metabolic syndrome criteria, the specialists said.
American Journal of Cardiology 2003;91:5A:25C-27C:discussion 28C.
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