Prevention of atherosclerosis in patients living with HIV

INVESTIGATIONAL PRODUCT: Rosuvastatin (Crestor(®); Astra Zeneca). ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: Rosuvastatin (5 mg). STUDY TITLE: Prevention of Atherosclerosis in Patients Living with HIV. PHASE OF STUDY: Phase III. AIMS: To assess whether rosuvastatin therapy could slow the progression of the carotid intima-media thickness (C-IMT; as measured by the change in the mean IMT of the near and far walls of the distal common carotid arteries) over 2 years in HIV-infected patients (HIV-IP). To assess whether rosuvastatin therapy could reduce highly sensitive C reactive protein (hs-CRP) inflammatory marker that is increased in HIV-IP. To assess the effect of rosuvastatin therapy on serum lipid levels (total cholesterol [TC], low-density lipoprotein [LDL] cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterol and triglycerides [TG]) and apolipoproteins (APO A1, APO B and APO B/A1). To assess the safety of rosuvastatin in HIV-IP through the evaluation of clinical laboratory analyses (liver function tests and creatine kinase) and adverse events (AEs). STUDY DESIGN: Two-year randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group study. PLANNED SAMPLE SIZE: 320 HIV-IP. SUMMARY OF ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: HIV-IP who are aged between 30 and 60 years, with a CD4 count. greater than 200 cells/mm(3). Patients must be stable on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) for at least 12 months and have a 10-year CVD risk of less than 20% (using the Framingham risk score). NUMBER OF STUDY CENTERS: One. DURATION OF TREATMENT: Two years (5 mg rosuvastatin or placebo once daily). DOSE AND ROUTE OF ADMINISTRATION: Oral rosuvastatin (5 mg) once daily. 1) Slow the progression in the mean IMT of the distal common carotid arteries over two years in HIV-IP. 2) Change the concentration in the inflammatory marker – hs-CRP, which is increased in HIV-IP. 3) Change the concentrations of TC, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, TG, apolipoproteins (APO) B, APO A1 and APO B/A1. 4) Be administered safely in the study population. Pharmacological intervention with rosuvastatin will be evaluated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial in HIV-IP treated with cART not matching the published selection criteria for lipid-lowering therapy. For the first time, this study will investigate anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic effects of a pharmacological lipid-lowering agent in HIV-IP that may lead to the reduction of CVD.