[Simvastatin effects on the disease activity and cholesterol content in blood serum lipoprotein subfractions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis].

Aim: To study activity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and cholesterol content in subfractions of blood serum lipoproteins in the course of simvastatin treatment.

Material And Methods: The pilot study enrolled 16 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) meeting ACR criteria. Any standard anti-RA medication in stable doses was supplemented with simvastatin in a dose 40 mg/day for 12 weeks. The response was assessed by contents of cholesterol in serum lipoprotein subfractions and DAS28 index.

Results: At the end of the treatment course there was a significant elevation of HDLP2 and HDLP3 cholesterol and reduction in the levels of LDLP1-3 and LDLP cholesterol. DAS28 decreased by 0.89 points to the end of the treatment.

Conclusion: Administration of simvastatin in patients with active RA on standard disease-modulating drugs has an antiatherogenic action and attenuates the disease activity. These pilot data should be confirmed by further large-scale controlled trials.