Comparison of the effect of rosuvastatin versus rosuvastatin/ezetimibe on markers of inflammation in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Statins lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and the addition of ezetimibe to statins further reduces LDL-C and hsCRP. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) is a potentially important pathogenic factor participating in the progression of atherosclerosis. The aim of current study was to investigate how the addition of ezetimibe to rosuvastatin treatment affects reductions in LDL-C, hsCRP and Lp-PLA2 in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). A total of 135 patients were enrolled in the study within 24 h of AMI, and were randomized to receive 10 mg rosuvastatin or 10 mg rosuvastatin plus 10 mg ezetimibe daily. HsCRP, Lp-PLA2, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), LDL-C and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were determined at baseline and after 1, 3, 6 and 12 months of treatment. The addition of ezetimibe to rosuvastatin led to greater reduction of LDL-C compared with rosuvastatin monotherapy (from 3.00 to 1.19 mmol/l vs. 2.93 to 1.49 mmol/l, respectively; P<0.05), as well as reduced levels of hsCRP (from 5.15 to 0.68 mg/l vs. 4.33 to 1.49 mg/l, respectively; P<0.05) and Lp-PLA2 (from 333.13 to 79.07 mg/l vs. 327.95 to 123.62 mg/l, respectively; P<0.05). A positive association was identified between reductions of Lp-PLA2 and the changes of LDL-C (r=0.367; P=0.002). However, no significant correlation was observed between changes in Lp-PLA2 and hsCRP (r=0.264; P=0.512). The values of hsCRP and Lp-PLA2 appeared to increase during the first week after randomization, but dropped steeply to a lower level and remained stable thereafter. In conclusion, the addition of ezetimibe to rosuvastatin was demonstrated to further reduce LDL-C, hsCRP and Lp-PLA2 compared with rosuvastatin monotherapy in patients with AMI.