Antioxidant effects of statins in patients with atherosclerotic cerebrovascular disease.
OBJECTIVE
Oxidative stress is involved in the pathophysiological mechanisms of stroke (e.g., atherosclerosis) and brain injury after ischemic stroke. Statins, which inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, have both pleiotropic and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-lowering properties. Recent trials have shown that high-dose statins reduce the risk of cerebrovascular events. However, there is a paucity of data regarding the changes in the oxidative stress markers in patients with atherosclerotic stroke after statin use. This study evaluated changes in oxidative stress markers after short-term use of a high-dose statin in patients with atherosclerotic stroke.


METHODS
Rosuvastatin was administered at a dose of 20 mg/day to 99 patients who had suffered an atherosclerotic stroke and no prior statin use. Blood samples were collected before and 1 month after dosing, and the serum levels of four oxidative stress markers-malondialdehyde (MDA), oxidized LDL (oxLDL), protein carbonyl content (PCO), and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG)-were evaluated to determine the oxidation of MDA and lipids, proteins, and DNA, respectively, at both of those time points.


RESULTS
The baseline levels and the degrees of reduction after statin use differed among the oxidative stress markers measured. MDA and PCO levels were associated with infarct volumes on diffusion-weighted imaging (r=0.551, p<0.05, and r=0.444, p=0.05, respectively). Statin use decreased MDA and oxLDL levels (both p<0.05) but not the PCO or 8-OHdG level. While the reduction in MDA levels after statin use was not associated with changes in cholesterol, that in oxLDL levels was proportional to the reductions in cholesterol (r=0.479, p<0.01), LDL (r=0.459, p<0.01), and apolipoprotein B (r=0.444, p<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The impact of individual oxidative stress markers differs with time after ischemic stroke, suggesting that different oxidative markers reflect different aspects of oxidative stress. In addition, short-term use of a statin exerts antioxidant effects against lipid peroxidation via lipid-lowering-dependent and -independent mechanisms, but not against protein or DNA oxidation in atherosclerotic stroke patients.
Medical Research Institute, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea. ; Clinical Research Center, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul, Korea.
Gyeong Joon
GJ
Moon
Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Suk Jae
SJ
Kim
Clinical Research Center, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul, Korea.
Yeon Hee
YH
Cho
Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Sookyung
S
Ryoo
Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. ; Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, Seoul, Korea.
Oh Young
OY
Bang
atherosclerosis; cholesterol; ischemic stroke; oxidative stress; statin