title: Statins as potential therapeutic drug for asthma?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Statins are lipid-lowering agents that also exhibit pleiotropic effects in decreasing oxidative stress and inflammation. There have been several published studies reporting the use of statins in the treatment of asthma patients, but their results are not consistent. The aim of this study is to determine whether statins are beneficial for asthma administration, and explore the potential covariables that may affect their clinical effectiveness.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Center Register of Controlled Trials from inception to September 2012. Randomized controlled trials (RCT), retrospective studies and controlled clinical trials which reported the use of statins in the treatment of asthma patients were eligible. Quality evaluation was conducted for RCT using Jadad criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 18 articles were included. In our study, we found no conclusive evidence to demonstrate that statins could enhance the lung function in asthmatics, although, they may reduce airway inflammation. Additionally, the results were not consistent across studies with respect to symptoms, quality of life, maintenance medication, asthma hospitalization/emergency department (ED) visits.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Statins may reduce airway inflammation in asthmatics, without having a significant effect on lung function. Further large sample and multicenter clinical trials are needed to confirm this and to see if there are more responsive phenotypes of asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jiyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Jingying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.forename: Mao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Ian M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Adcock
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors