Pitavastatin reduces elevated IL-18 levels in Japanese subjects with hypercholesterolemia: Sub-analysis of Kansai Investigation of Statin for Hyperlipidemic Intervention in Metabolism and Endocrinology (KISHIMEN)

Aim: pitavastatin significantly improved lipid profiles and reduced serum high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-crp) levels in a multi-center and prospective study. the aim of this study was to explore the effect of pitavastatin on serum levels of another inflammatory biomarker,interleukin-18 (il-18),in a sub-analysis of the previous multi-center prospective study. methods: the subjects were 83 patients derived from the kishimen study. pitavastatin (1-2 mg/ day) was administered for 12 months. serum total cholesterol (tc),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (ldl-c),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (hdl-c),remnant-like particle cholesterol (rlp-c),triglycerides (tg),il-18,and high sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-crp) levels were measured. results: tc,ldl-c,and rlp-c levels were significantly reduced by 18.3%,30.1%,and 21.0% (mean values) at 12 months after pitavastatin administration. tg levels were decreased by 9.8% in subjects whose basal tg levels were above 150 mg/dl. hdl-c levels were significantly increased at 6 months (11.9%). pitavastatin did not significantly alter il-18 levels in overall subjects,but reduced il-18 levels in the highest quartile by 24.5% (median value) at 12 months. pitavastatin significantly reduced hs-crp levels by 28.6% in overall subjects and by 62.4% in the highest quartile at 12 months. there was a significant correlation between il-18 and hs-crp at baseline after both values were transformed into logarithms (pearson's correlation coefficient,r = 0.259,p = 0.0181); however,percent changes in these levels were not significantly correlated. conclusion: pitavastatin significantly improves lipid profiles,and reduces enhanced inflammation monitored by il-18,as well as by hs-crp,in hypercholesterolemic subjects.