title: The risks of a new hypothesis: why did JUPITER patients have almost twice the predicted event rate of reduction?
abstract: High serum cholesterol levels are associated with death from coronary heart disease and statin therapy has been demonstrated to effectively lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and reduce coronary events in broad sections of the population. Recently, the Justification for the Use of Statins in Primary Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin (JUPITER) randomized 17 802 apparently healthy individuals, with levels of LDL cholesterol below current treatment thresholds but with elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, to rosuvastatin 20 mg daily, or placebo. At a median follow-up of almost 2 years, compared to placebo, rosuvastatin treatment was associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of major cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events, that is, almost twice the magnitude found in previous statin trials. Such a noteworthy finding is discussed herein.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Cardiologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy. g.a.sgueglia@gmail.com
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Sgueglia
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Crea
mesh_terms: D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005464:Fluorobenzenes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D000068718:Rosuvastatin Calcium; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D005464:Fluorobenzenes; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D011743:Pyrimidines; D013449:Sulfonamides; D000068718:Rosuvastatin Calcium; D002097:C-Reactive Protein