Effects of simvastatin treatment on sICAM-1 and sE-selectin levels in hypercholesterolemic subjects.
This study was performed to determine whether the levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-l) and soluble endothelial molecule-1 (sE-selectin) were elevated in subjects with hypercholesterolemia who presented with no other risk factors or evidence of atherosclerosis. The effects of administration of an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor on the serum levels of these molecules were also examined. Forty hypercholesterolemic subjects (HCh) (19 males and 21 females), without hypertension or cardiovascular disease, received placebo for 4 weeks. The patients were then randomized in two groups; 20 of them (simvastatin group) were treated with simvastatin (20 mg/day) and the other 20 (placebo group) continued placebo administration. After 12 and 24 weeks of either simvastatin or placebo treatment, sICAM-1 and sE-selectin levels were measured. The same parameters were measured in 20 control subjects (C) with normal cholesterol levels, matched for sex and age. HCh had sICAM-1 basal values higher than C (352.4+/-57.9 ng/ml versus 114.9+/-89.6 ng/ml; P<0.001); however, sE-selectin basal values were not different in the two groups. No correlation was observed between HCh sICAM-1 levels and cholesterol levels (total and low-density lipoprotein). Furthermore, cholesterol-lowering treatment with simvastatin did not significantly diminish sICAM-1 levels. Our findings would support the hypothesis that patients with isolated hypercholesterolemia and without clinical atherosclerosis may be silent carriers of arterial subendothelial inflammation, expressed as an increase of sICAM-1.
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Messina, Via Camiciotti 82, 98123, Messina, Italy. asaitta@unime.it
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Castaldo
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Cinquegrani
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Bonaiuto
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Maesano
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Schepis
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Zema
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D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D019040:E-Selectin / Q000097:blood*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019821:Simvastatin / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D019040:E-Selectin; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; D002784:Cholesterol; D019821:Simvastatin