Purpose: To compare the short-term effect of treatment with atorvastatin and rosuvastatin on levels of serum lipids, inflammatory markers and adiponectin in patients with hypercholesterolemia.
Methods: Sixty-nine patients with hypercholesterolemia were randomly assigned to receive 10 mg/day of atorvastatin or rosuvastatin for 12 weeks. Inflammatory biomarkers, including highsensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and endothelin (ET-1), plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) and plasma tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), adiponectin, and lipid profiles were measured before and after statin therapy.
Results: Atorvastatin and rosuvastatin both lowered levels of hs-CRP, MMP-9, PAI-1, total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) from baseline values, with rosuvastatin lowering TC and LDL-C to a greater extent than atorvastatin (P < 0.05). Adiponectin level increase was 15% higher than that at baseline with atorvastatin (P > 0.05) but 67% higher with rosuvastatin (P < 0.05).
Conclusions: Therapy with both statins not only significantly improved lipid profiles but also decreased levels of vascular biomarkers hs-CRP, MMP-9, and PAI-1; however, only rosuvastatin increased serum adiponectin levels significantly in patients with hypercholesterolemia, which could imply a beneficial effect in coronary artery disease.