STATINS SHOWN BENEFICIAL AGAINST HEART ATTACK, STUDIES FIND

Statin developers have received positive news on the research front in the form of two clinical studies that indicate statin drugs help reduce the body's level of c-reactive protein (CRP), which has been associated with increased risks of coronary disease.

The research studies, published in the Jan. 6 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine, found evidence of a "dual mechanism of benefit for statins -- lipid lowering and a reduction in inflammation." These outcomes have "important implications for current and future treatment of atherosclerosis," the researchers concluded.

The first study -- dubbed "Pravastatin or Atorvastatin and Infection Therapy" (Prove It) -- was conducted by a team led by Paul Ridker, a researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. The second study -- called "Reversal of Atherosclerosis with Aggressive Lipid Lowering" (Reversal) -- was led by Steven Nissen at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Both studies compared results using 80 mg of Lipitor (atorvastin calcium), which is manufactured by Pfizer, and 40 mg of Pravachol (pravastatin sodium), which is manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb. Prove It involved 4,162 patients enrolled at 349 sites in eight countries, while Reversal monitored 502 patients at 34 centers in the U.S.

Both trials discovered that patients who received 80 mg of Lipitor daily were significantly more likely to have decreased levels of the CRP protein and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol than those who received 40 mg of Pravachol. The Reversal study found that CRP levels were 30 percent to 40 percent lower in patients who received intensive statin treatment compared to those who received moderate treatment.