title: The effects of different doses of atorvastatin on plasma endothelin-1 levels in type 2 diabetic patients with dyslipidemia.
abstract: We investigated the effects of three different daily doses (10 mg, 20 mg, and 40 mg) of atorvastatin, a relatively new and potent statin, on plasma endothelin (ET)-1 and highly sensitive C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in type 2 diabetic subjects. Twenty-nine type 2 diabetic patients with dyslipidemia were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive atorvastatin orally at 10 mg (A10; n = 10), 20 mg (A20; n = 10), or 40 mg (A40; n = 9) daily for 12 weeks. Levels of plasma total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol (C) in all three studied groups were significantly decreased after treatment with atorvastatin for 12 weeks (all groups, P < 0.001). However, the greatest LDL-C lowering effect and the highest percentage of subjects achieving the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) LDL-C goal were observed in the A20 group. All diabetic subjects had a higher plasma ET-1 concentration (A10, 1.02 +/- 0.37 pg/ml, mean +/- SD; A20, 1.17 +/- 0.55 pg/ml; and A40, 0.87 +/- 0.45 pg/ml) than that of age- and sex-matched normal control subjects (0.64 +/- 0.15 pg/ml; all groups, P < 0.001). Plasma ET-1 levels showed a borderline significant decrease at the end of study, by 22% in diabetic subjects treated with 10 mg atorvastatin (P = 0.05 compared with baseline), and by 30% in subjects treated with 20 mg atorvastatin (P = 0.06, compared with baseline). Paradoxically, the 40-mg dose of atorvastatin provided an increase of 2% in plasma ET-1 levels at the end of study, which is significantly different (P < 0.05) and marginally significant (P = 0.057) from the levels of the 10- and 20-mg doses, respectively. Similarly, although insignificantly, plasma concentrations of CRP also tended to decrease by 12% and 48%, and paradoxically increased by 18% in diabetic patients treated with 10 mg, 20 mg, and 40 mg atorvastatin, respectively. The clinical significance of these biphasic lipid-independent statin effects is unknown and the present study suggests that 20 mg atorvastatin may have the best benefits in treating diabetic patients with dyslipidemia.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Research, Department of Medical Education and Research, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, 386, Ta-Chung 1st Rd., Kaohsiung, Taiwan 813, Republic of China. hclam@isca.vghks.gov.tw
authors.forename: Hing-Chung
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Chih-Hsun
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Mei-Chih
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Hsiu-Man
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Keng
authors.forename: Chih-Chen
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Chun-Chin
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Jenn-Kuen
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ming-Ju
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.forename: Mei-Chun
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ming-Hong
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Tai
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000069059:Atorvastatin; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000097:blood*; D006538:Heptanoic Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011758:Pyrroles / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D019332:Endothelin-1; D006538:Heptanoic Acids; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D011758:Pyrroles; D002784:Cholesterol; D000069059:Atorvastatin