Published Online
on March 15, 2004

A more recent version of this article appeared on March 23, 2004

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Submitted on December 19, 2003
Revised on January 28, 2004
Accepted on January 29, 2004

Atorvastatin Does Not Affect the Antiplatelet Potency of Clopidogrel When It Is Administered Concomitantly for 5 Weeks in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes

John V. Mitsios MSc, Athanasios I. Papathanasiou MD, Foteini I. Rodis BSc, Moses Elisaf MD, John A. Goudevenos MD, and Alexandros D. Tselepis MD, PhD^*

From the Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, and Departments of Cardiology (A.I.P., J.A.G.) and Internal Medicine (M.E.), Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: atselep{at}cc.uoi.gr.

Background--The antiplatelet effect of clopidogrel may be attenuated by short-term coadministration of lipophilic statins. We investigated whether the coadministration of atorvastatin for 5 weeks in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) could affect the antiplatelet potency of clopidogrel.

Methods and Results--Forty-five hypercholesterolemic patients with the first episode of an ACS were included in the study. Patients were randomized to receive daily either 10 mg of atorvastatin (n=21) or 40 mg of pravastatin (n=24). Thirty patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) received a loading dose of 375 mg of clopidogrel, followed by 75 mg/d for at least 3 months. In the remaining 15 patients who refused to undergo PCI, clopidogrel therapy was not administered. Eight normolipidemic patients with the first episode of an ACS were also included and received only clopidogrel. The serum levels of soluble CD40L and the adenosine 5`-diphosphate- or thrombin receptor activating peptide-14-induced platelet aggregation, as well as P-selectin and CD40L surface expression, were studied at baseline (within 30 minutes after admission) and 5 weeks later. Neither atorvastatin nor pravastatin significantly influenced the clopidogrel-induced inhibition of platelet activation, nor did clopidogrel influence the therapeutic efficacy of atorvastatin.

Conclusions--Atorvastatin does not affect the antiplatelet potency of clopidogrel when coadministered for 5 weeks in ACS patients.

Key words: acute coronary syndromes • clopidogrel • platelets • drugs

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