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Letter
Effects of a 3-month course of rosuvastatin in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
  1. M D de Kruif1,2,
  2. M Limper1,2,
  3. H R Hansen1,2,
  4. J de Ruiter1,
  5. C A Spek2,
  6. E C M van Gorp1,
  7. I J ten Berge3,
  8. A T Rowshani3,
  9. H ten Cate4,
  10. E W Meesters1
  1. 1
    Department of Internal Medicine, Slotervaart Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  2. 2
    Centre for Experimental and Molecular Medicine, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  3. 3
    Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  4. 4
    Laboratory for Clinical Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, University Maastricht, Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands
  1. Correspondence to Dr M D de Kruif, Department of Internal Medicine, Slotervaart Hospital, Louwesweg 6, 1066 EC Amsterdam, The Netherlands; m.d.dekruif{at}amc.uva.nl

https://doi.org/10.1136/ard.2009.109405

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    Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with a highly increased cardiovascular risk. Statins can reduce this risk, but may possess additional anti-inflammatory effects that are relevant for the treatment of SLE. In a preliminary study, we investigated the effects of a 3-month course of rosuvastatin on lipids and markers of inflammation using a randomised cross-over design.

    The study was approved by the institutional medical and ethical committee and written informed consent was obtained from all subjects. Based upon a previous, representative study,1 a sample size of 14 patients would be necessary to demonstrate a 25% reduction in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (power = 80%). A dropout level of 35% (n = 5) was estimated.2 Patients with stable …

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    Footnotes

    • Funding This study was supported by an unrestricted research grant to HtC from AstraZeneca, The Netherlands.

    • Competing interests None.

    • Provenance and Peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Ethics approval Approval from the medical and ethical committee of the Slotervaart Hospital and Jan van Breemen Institute (located at the Slotervaart Hospital), Amsterdam.