Simvastatin Treatment is not Associated with Changes in Serum Concentrations of Heat Shock Proteins -60 and -70 in Patients with Dyslipidemia

Background: increased heat shock protein (hsp) expression is associated withatherogenesis. the statin group of cholesterol lowering drugs reduces cardiovascularevents and this may be related to their pleiotropic effects that may include their antiinflammatoryproperties. the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of 40 mgsimvastatin on serum levels of hsp-60 and -70 in dyslipidemic individuals. methods:patients (n=102) were treated with simvastatin (40mg/day), or placebo in arandomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial. lipid profile andserum hsp-60 and -70 antigen levels were measured before and after each treatmentperiod. seventy-seven subjects completed the study. data were analyzed usingindependent-samples t-test for parametric data and mann–whitney test for nonparametricdata and chi-square test for categorical data. results: there was areduction in the level of ldl-c (p < 0.001), total cholesterol (p < 0.001), andtriglycerides (p < 0.05). however, simvastatin therapy did not significantly alter theserum level of hdl-c, hsp-60 and -70 (p > 0.05). conclusions: we found that statintherapy did not significantly affect the serum level of hsp-60 and -70.