Simvastatin effects on the disease activity and cholesterol content in blood serum lipoprotein subfractions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Aim. To study activity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and cholesterol content in subfractions of blood serum lipoproteins in the course of simvastatin treatment. Material and methods. The pilot study enrolled 16 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) meeting ACR criteria. Any standard anti-RA medication in stable doses was supplemented with simvastatin in a dose 40 mg/day for 12 weeks. The response was assessed by contents of cholesterol in serum lipoprotein subfractions and DAS28 index. Results. At the end of the treatment course there was a significant elevation of HDLP2 and HDLP3 cholesterol and reduction in the levels of LDLP1-3 and LDLP cholesterol. DAS28 decreased by 0.89 points to the end of the treatment. Conclusion. Administration of simvastatin in patients with active RA on standard disease-modulating drugs has an antiatherogenic action and attenuates the disease activity. These pilot data should be confirmed by further large-scale controlled trials.

Keywords

• rheumatoid arthritis
• atherosclerosis
• statins
• cardiovascular disease