Influence of simvastatin on serum MDA and SOD in patients with cerebral infarction

Objective To investigate the influence of simvastatin on serum MDA and SOD in patients with cerebral infarction. Methods Sixty-eight patients with cerebral infarction were screened,and were randomly divided into control group and treatment group,with 34 cases in each group. The control group were treated by conventional therapy,and treatment group were given simvastatin( 20 mg / d) based on the conventional therapy. Thirty-four healthy people were screened as normal group. The levels of MDA and SOD in serum were measured before and 30 d after therapy,and the therapeutic effect was observed by standard scale of clinical neurological deficit. Results Compared with the normal group,the levels of MDA in all of the cerebral infarction patient were higher,SOD was lower( P 0. 05). The serum MDA levels decreased in both groups,and SOD content increased( P 0. 05),and simvastatin treatment exaggerated these effects,with greater reduction of serum MDA levels and greater increase of SOD content( P 0. 05). Conclusion Simvastatin can increase the concentration of SOD and reduce the concentration of MDA in patients with cerebral infarction,thus to protect neural function by enhancing the clearance of free radical.