title: Managing hypercholesterolemia and preventing cardiovascular events in elderly and younger Chinese adults: focus on rosuvastatin.
abstract: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. The efficacy and safety of statins in primary and secondary prevention of CHD is confirmed in several large studies, and rosuvastatin is the latest statin on market. We review the published literature on rosuvastatin in Chinese people. The pharmacokinetics of rosuvastatin in Chinese is somewhat different from that in Caucasians, but this does not influence the linear relationship between dosage and efficacy and with no drug accumulation. Rosuvastatin 5-20 mg/day is effective and safe in decreasing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in both younger and elderly patients with hypercholesterolemia, even in very elderly patients. Rosuvastatin also shows anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerosis features, such as reducing carotid intima-media thickness and plaque area. Rosuvastatin can also improve the prognosis of Chinese CHD patients, such as in the case of acute myocardial infarction. Its adverse-event rate is low and comparable to other statins. In conclusion, rosuvastatin is effective and safe for younger or elderly Chinese patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Junbo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ge
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D002681:China; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005464:Fluorobenzenes / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000188:drug therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000068718:Rosuvastatin Calcium; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005464:Fluorobenzenes; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D011743:Pyrimidines; D013449:Sulfonamides; D000068718:Rosuvastatin Calcium
keywords: Chinese; elderly; rosuvastatin; younger