title: Improvement of arterial stiffness by reducing oxidative stress damage in elderly hypertensive patients after 6 months of atorvastatin therapy.
abstract: Atorvastatin is postulated to improve arterial stiffness in patients with diabetes mellitus or hypercholesterolemia; however, in elderly hypertensive patients, its effect on arterial stiffness and the possible mechanisms are unknown. A total of 73 elderly hypertensive patients were enrolled to receive atorvastatin for 6 months. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and circulating biomarkers were measured before and after the intervention. After 6 months of treatment, the patients experienced a 19.66% reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (2.90±0.58 vs 2.33±0.56 mmol/L, P<.01) and a 10.63% reduction in baPWV (2100.89±513.21 vs 1877.56±432.06 cm/s, P=.01). In addition, a 21.79% reduction in circulating N-(epsilon)-carboxymethyl-lysine and a 20% reduction in Von Willebrand factor level were observed after treatment. Meanwhile, the activity of copper/zinc-containing superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD) was increased by 26.64% (5.04±1.01 vs 6.87±1.83 U/L, P<.001). Correlation analysis demonstrated that the increase of Cu/Zn SOD activity was related to the reductions of arterial stiffness (r=-0.340, P=.003). Taken together, these findings suggest that atorvastatin can improve arterial stiffness possibly by reducing oxidative stress levels in elderly hypertensive patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gerontology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Junhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Chuanwei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Di
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Zhijian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001158:Arteries / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D000069059:Atorvastatin; D015415:Biomarkers; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006538:Heptanoic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011758:Pyrroles / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D006538:Heptanoic Acids; D011758:Pyrroles; D000069059:Atorvastatin