Effect of statin therapy on serum trace element status in dyslipidaemic subjects

Patients previously not treated with a lipid-lowering agent ( n = 20 ; mean age 49.15±3.28 years) were treated with either 10 mg/day of Simvastatin ( n = 11 ), or Atorvastatin ( n = 9 ) for 4 months. Fourteen additional patients were recruited from the same clinic at the same hospital as a control group. The medication of these latter patients was unaltered for 4 months and the same parameters were measured as for the statin groups. Serum concentrations of zinc, copper, caeruloplasmin, selenium, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured together with their lipid profiles pre- and post-treatment. In addition to reducing serum total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol ( p < 0.0001 ), statin treatment was associated with a significant reduction in mean serum zinc (9%, p = 0.03 ), copper (9%, p < 0.01 ), caeruloplasmin (24%, p < 0.05 ), and median CRP (45%, p < 0.03 ). Similar changes were not observed in the control patients. No significant effects were observed for serum selenium, copper/caeruloplasmin ratio, or GPx ( p > 0.05 ) in either statin or control groups. These changes may be related to the known anti-inflammatory properties of the statin class of drugs.