Biological effects of statins in atherosclerosis [Gli effetti biologici delle statine nella malattia aterosclerotica]

Item Type:	Review
Title:	Biological effects of statins in atherosclerosis [Gli effetti biologici delle statine nella malattia aterosclerotica]
Creators Name:	Franzone, A. and Schiattarella, G.G. and Capretti, G. and Sorrentino, S. and Pironti, G. and Sannino, A. and Perrino, C. and Esposito, G. and Chiariello, M.
Abstract:	Statins are the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide for lowering blood cholesterol levels. They have been used for over 15 years, and have been found to be effective, safe and well tolerated over a broad range of patients. Their main mechanism of action is based on the competitive inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, the enzyme responsible for cholesterol biosynthesis. Both basic and clinical studies have however recently shown that statins also reduce cardiovascular risk through other mechanisms apart from cholesterol reduction, such as improvement of endothelial dysfunction, inhibition of inflammatory responses, stabilization of atherosclerotic plaques, and modulation of platelet function and smooth muscle cell proliferation. Conflicting data are currently available on the efficacy of statins in restenosis after balloon angioplasty. It is well established that smooth muscle cell proliferation is the main mechanism responsible for restenosis after arterial balloon angioplasty, and that it contributes towards restenosis even after arterial stenting (in-stent restenosis). Several studies indicate that statins strongly affect the in vitro VSMC proliferation. In this review, we report recent data of ours that show hitherto unknown molecular effects of statins, in particular on smooth muscle cell proliferation and arterial restenosis.
Keywords:	Statin, Atherosclerosis, Restenosis, Pleiotropism
Source:	Trends in Medicine
ISSN:	1594-2848
Publisher:	Pharma Project Group
Volume:	9
Number:	1
Page Range:	19-26
Date:	January 2009
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/

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