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.