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(Circulation. 2003;108:1673.)
© 2003 American Heart Association, Inc.

Brief Rapid Communications

Enhanced Interleukin-1ß in Hypercholesterolemia

Effects of Simvastatin and Low-Dose Aspirin

Patrizia Ferroni, MD; Francesca Martini, PhD; Cristiano M. Cardarello, MD; Pier Paolo Gazzaniga, MD; Giovanni Davì, MD; Stefania Basili, MD

From the Departments of Experimental Medicine & Pathology (P.F., F.M., P.P.G.) and Medical Therapy (C.M.C., S.B.), University of Rome, La Sapienza, and Center of Excellence on Aging (G.D.), University of Chieti "G. D’Annunzio" School of Medicine, Chieti, Italy.

Correspondence to Giovanni Davì, MD, Center of Excellence on Aging, Via colle dell’Ara, 66013 Chieti, Italy. E-mail gdavi{at}unich.it

Received June 3, 2003; revision received August 8, 2003; accepted August 9, 2003.

Background— This study was aimed at verifying whether activation of platelets might represent a source of interleukin (IL)-1ß levels in hypercholesterolemia. To this purpose, we compared the effects of a short-term treatment with simvastatin or low-dose aspirin on circulating levels of this cytokine.

Methods and Results— Fifty patients with hypercholesterolemia were randomly allocated to receive an 8-week therapeutic course of simvastatin 20 mg daily (n=25) or aspirin 100 mg daily (n=25). Baseline soluble (s) P-selectin directly correlated with IL-1ß (P<0.0001) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (P<0.05) but not with von Willebrand factor, total cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol levels. Furthermore, sP-selectin (P<0.02) and IL-1ß (P<0.0001) levels were independently related to CRP by multiple regression analysis. Both drugs were associated with comparable, significant reductions in IL-1ß and sP-selectin. Simvastatin, but not aspirin treatment, significantly lowered CRP levels (P<0.05). The change in IL-1ß levels correlated with the change in sP-selectin in patients randomized to either simvastatin (Rho, 0.42; P<0.05) or aspirin (Rho, 0.42; P<0.05). In contrast, the simvastatin-induced change in IL-1ß did not correlate with the change in CRP levels.

Conclusions— This study suggests that platelets might contribute to IL-1ß production in hypercholesterolemia, thus providing an additional link between inflammation and the prothrombotic state in this setting.

Key Words: hypercholesterolemia • platelets • inflammation • aspirin • statins

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