Objectives: Statins are lipid-lowering drugs that exhibit anti-Inflammatory and immune-modulatory properties, leading to a reduction of serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the general population.
Design: To assess the anti-inflammatory effects of statins in HIV-infected patients, because very limited data are available today.
Methods: Longitudinal, observational study of HIV-infected adult patients naive to antiretroviral therapy who started tenofovir/emtricitabine/efavirenz and were followed-up for 48 weeks. Patients with baseline normal cholesterol level and taking only antiretroviral drugs (group A) were compared to those with baseline hypercholesterolemia who received rosuvastatin (10 mg daily) in association with antiretroviral treatment (group B). The primary observation was change in serum markers of inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hsCRP], interleukin-6 [IL-6], interleukin-8 [IL-8]) and tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF- α]) in both groups, whereas secondary observations include variations in CD4 lymphocyte count, HIV viral load, and occurrence of adverse events.
Results: Eighty-six patients were enrolled into the study: 46 in group A and 40 in group B. After 48 weeks, patients treated with antiretroviral therapy plus rosuvastatin had significantly greater decreases in serum concentrations of all Inflammatory markers than those taking antiretroviral therapy only. Changes in mean levels of hsCRP and TNF-α were -35.1% and -22.4% in group B and -8.2% and 5.4% in group A, respectively (P < .001, for both parameters). No significant differences in immunovirological parameters and safety profile were reported across the compared groups.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that tenofovir/emtricitabine/efavirenz plus rosuvastatin has a greater antiInflammatory effect than antiretroviral drugs only.
Keywords: antiretroviral therapy; hypercholesterolemia; inflammation; markers; statins.