Volume 1173, Issue 1 p. 736-745

Statins for the Treatment of Antiphospholipid Syndrome?

Praveen Jajoria

Praveen Jajoria

Department of Internal Medicine

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Vijaya Murthy

Vijaya Murthy

Department of Internal Medicine

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Elizabeth Papalardo

Elizabeth Papalardo

Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Antiphospholipid Standardization Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA

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Zurina Romay-Penabad

Zurina Romay-Penabad

Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Antiphospholipid Standardization Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA

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Caroline Gleason

Caroline Gleason

Rheumatology Associates of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA

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Silvia S. Pierangeli

Silvia S. Pierangeli

Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Antiphospholipid Standardization Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA

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First published: 01 September 2009
Citations: 46
Address for correspondence: Silvia S. Pierangeli, Ph.D., Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0883, USA. Voice: +409-772-0222; fax: +409-772-0223. st

Abstract

Fluvastatin has been shown to revert proinflammatory/prothrombotic effects of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) in vitro and in mice. Here, we examined whether fluvastatin affects the levels of proinflammatory/prothrombotic markers in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) patients. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), soluble tissue factor (sTF), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), sE-selectin (E-sel), C-reactive protein (CRP), and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule (sVCAM-1), were measured in the sera of 93 APS patients and 60 controls and in the sera of nine patients with APS before and after 30 days of treatment with fluvastatin. Elevated levels of VEGF, sTF, and TNF-α were found in APS patients. Fluvastatin significantly reduced those markers in the majority of treated subjects. The data from this study show that statins may be beneficial in aPL-positive patients and warrant larger clinical trials to confirm the efficacy of the drug for the treatment of APS clinical manifestations.