Effect of simvastatin upon serum levels of interleukin-6 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Objective: To explore the effect of early intervention with simvastatin on serum levels of inflammatory factors in patients with acute coronary syndrome(ACS) and the mechanism by which statin treats ACS.Methods: 50 patients with ACS were included and were randomly assigned to the simvastatin group(n=25) and the routine group(n=25) in this study.The simvastatin group was given simvastatin 20mg per day and the routine group took placebo.Making a three-week follow-up,and the changes of IL-6,hs-CRP and serum lipids levels between groups before and after intervention with simvastatin were compared.Results:After three-week treatment with simvastation,serum IL-6,hs-CRP and total cholesterol(TC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C) levels were decreased significantly in the simvastatin group(P0.001),but no significant changes were observed in the routine group.No relationship was found between the rate of decrease of serum IL-6 or hs-CRP and serum lipids levels.Conclusion: Simvastatin possess anti-inflammatory effect which independent of its lipid-lowering action,and the anti-inflammatory effect of simvastatin may play an important role in the early treatment of ACS.