title: Statins for the treatment of antiphospholipid syndrome?
abstract: Fluvastatin has been shown to revert proinflammatory/prothrombotic effects of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) in vitro and in mice. Here, we examined whether fluvastatin affects the levels of proinflammatory/prothrombotic markers in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) patients. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), soluble tissue factor (sTF), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), sE-selectin (E-sel), C-reactive protein (CRP), and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule (sVCAM-1), were measured in the sera of 93 APS patients and 60 controls and in the sera of nine patients with APS before and after 30 days of treatment with fluvastatin. Elevated levels of VEGF, sTF, and TNF-alpha were found in APS patients. Fluvastatin significantly reduced those markers in the majority of treated subjects. The data from this study show that statins may be beneficial in aPL-positive patients and warrant larger clinical trials to confirm the efficacy of the drug for the treatment of APS clinical manifestations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Antiphospholipid Standardization Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555-0883, USA.
authors.forename: Praveen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jajoria
authors.forename: Vijaya
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Murthy
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Papalardo
authors.forename: Zurina
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Romay-Penabad
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gleason
authors.forename: Silvia S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Pierangeli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017152:Antibodies, Antiphospholipid / Q000097:blood; D016736:Antiphospholipid Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D019040:E-Selectin / Q000097:blood; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D000077340:Fluvastatin; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007211:Indoles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013925:Thromboplastin / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D017152:Antibodies, Antiphospholipid; D015415:Biomarkers; D019040:E-Selectin; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D007211:Indoles; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; D000077340:Fluvastatin; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D013925:Thromboplastin