Effects of Pitavastatin on the Intima-Media Thickness of the Carotid Artery in Patients with Ischemic Stroke: The Pitavastatin Efficacy Study on Surrogate Markers and Imaging for Stroke (PESSMIST)

Yasushi Shibata

Department of Neurosurgery, University of Tsukuba, Mito Medical Center, Mito Kyodo General Hospital, Mito, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/wjns.2014.44034                

Abstract

Pitavastatin is a strong statin that was developed in Japan. The clinical impact of pitavastatin treatment in patients with ischemic stroke has not been reported. We conducted a prospective, open label, clinical case-control study to determine the secondary preventive effects of pitavastatin for patients with cerebral infarction and hyperlipidemia. The pitavastatin group included 20 Japanese patients diagnosed with cerebral infarction and hyperlipidemia without previous statin intake. The control group included 22 patients diagnosed with cerebral infarction without hyperlipidemia. The pitavastatin group of patients received 2 mg of pitavastatin once a day after dinner. The mean age of the patients was 69.3 and 75.5 years for the pitavastatin and control groups, respectively, and the age of the pitavastatin group was significantly younger than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The serum TCho and LDL-C levels significantly decreased two months after the initiation of pitavastatin treatment. The mean and maximum intima-media thickness (IMT) also decreased after the initiation of pitavastatin. The mean and maximum IMT did not show any significant changes in the control group. The change of IMT %/year was less than zero for the pitavastatin group, and was almost zero or higher for the control group. Pitavastatin showed beneficial effects by improving the surrogate makers of stroke. These surrogate makers were effective to evaluate the efficacy of pitavastatin to prevent secondary stroke. Although a prospective randomized study is required to elucidate the long-term effects of pitavastatin, the current study suggests that pitavastatin may be effective to prevent secondary stroke in patients with stroke and hyperlipidemia.

Keywords

Pitavastatin, Stroke, ECHO, IMT, Hyperlipidemia

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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