Simvastatin improves endothelial function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

• Published in: Journal of the American College of Cardiology Vol. 45; no. 3; pp. 461 - 464
• Main Authors: Hermann, Frank, Forster, Adrian, Chenevard, Rémy, Enseleit, Frank, Hürlimann, David, Corti, Roberto, Spieker, Lukas E., Frey, Diana, Hermann, Matthias, Riesen, Walter, Neidhart, Michel, Michel, Beat A., Hellermann, Jens P., Gay, Renate E., Lüscher, Thomas F., Gay, Steffen, Noll, Georg, Ruschitzka, Frank
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-02-2005; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Apolipoproteins; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - blood; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - physiopathology; Blood pressure; Cardiology; Cardiovascular disease; Cholesterol; Cross-Over Studies; Cytokines; Disease prevention; Double-Blind Method; Drug dosages; Drug therapy; Endothelium, Vascular - drug effects; Female; Humans; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors - pharmacology; Hypertension; Kinases; Lipids; Lipids - blood; Low density lipoprotein; Male; Middle Aged; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Proteins; Rheumatoid arthritis; Rheumatology; Signal transduction; Simvastatin - pharmacology; Statins
• ISSN: 0735-1097; 1558-3597
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2004.11.006

[...]the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of statin therapy on vascular function, plasma lipids, and oxidative stress in patients with RA who have normal cholesterol levels. [...]the reduction of proatherogenic lipids and markers of oxidative stress result in an improvement of vascular function, indicating that statins may hold the potential as a novel add-on therapy in the treatment of RA.