Statin drugs for arthritis and cardioprotection

Japanese researchers have reported in the Journal Arthritis and Rheumatism that the statin drug fluvastatin is found to cause cell death on synovial cells leading to anti-inflammatory effect in experimental animals. The anti-inflammatory response of fluvastatin as been found to be at higher dosage in experimental animals than prescribed for humans. The researchers feel still a lot as to be done before the effect of fluvastatin can be used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

In a clinical study funded by Arthritis Research Campaign and the British Heart Foundation the researchers are planning to evaluate the cardio protective effect of statin drugs on 3,500 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, as studies have shown that patients with rheumatoid arthritis have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular complications.