Korean investigators report that simvastatin has beneficial effects on serological markers of inflammation and plaque stability, independent of lipid lowering. “Changes in plaque size by lipid lowering tend to occur over an extended period of time and are quite minimal, as assessed by angiography,” Dr. Kwang Kong Koh, of Gachon Medical School in Incheon, and colleagues point out in the September issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.
Previous laboratory research has shown, they explain, that “the clinical benefits from lipid lowering are probably due to decreases in macrophage accumulation in atherosclerotic lesions and inhibition of MMP [matrix metalloproteinase] production by activated macrophages.” MMP enzymes are known to rupture atherosclerotic plaque, leading to thrombus formation and acute coronary events.
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