Study Shows Two Statin Types Help Regress Atherosclerosis

Research also shows that maxium dosages of atorvastatin (Lipitor) and rosuvastatin (Crestor) are most effective.

Despite having different effects on LDL and HDL cholesterol levels, two commonly prescribed statin medications both showed impressive gains in reversing atherosclerosis, according to a recent study involving nearly 1,400 patients.

Results of the study, published online Nov. 15, 2011 in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that maximum doses of atorvastatin (Lipitor) and rosuvastatin (Crestor) equally regress arterial plaque build-up.

However, only about five percent of patient with stable coronary artery disease are treated with maximum statin doses.

“We’re very good at prescribing statins, we’re just not so good at increasing the doses,” says Stephen Nicholls, PhD, Clinical Director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention. “Safety is one of the elements of it, but the other element is that people question what the added benefit is. The incremental LDL lowering is about 5 percent or 6 percent every time you double the dose.

“I think what we’re seeing here is very reassuring for patients. Over a 24-month period, patients with largely stable disease tolerated these agents very well at these doses. They achieved very effective levels of LDL and HDL cholesterol, and if you’re looking for benefit, I see the removal of the disease from the artery wall that ultimately causes the clinical event as a very reassuring extra benefit for the doses of these agents.”

Rosuvastatin was able to lower LDL levels more than atorvastatin, according to the study, but both drugs were effective in bringing down the patients’ levels to or below the goal of 70 mg/dL. Atorvastatin was slightly more effective at raising HDL levels.

“When we put this all together with studies that have been performed over the past decade, it really is quite a striking story,” Dr. Nicholls says. “There is a clear relationship between achieved levels of LDL cholesterol and disease progression. Now we are able to consistently demonstrate that if you are able to get your LDL-cholesterol level well below 70 mg/dL, you can regress disease.”

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