Robert Glynn, PhD, ScD, from the Harvard School of Public Health and righam and Women's Hospital, in Boston, Massachusetts, conducted a clinical trial named   JUPITER

( A new analysis from the Justification for Use of Statins in Prevention: An Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin ). JUPITER study shows benefit from rosuvastatin (Crestor, AstraZeneca) treatment in patients with normal cholesterol levels but elevated C-reactive protein (CRP). The study shows a 48% relative risk reduction for total stroke, with no increase in hemorrhagic stroke.

Randomized trials conducted in hyperlipidemic patients without vascular disease have not shown a reduction in stroke risk. However, for patients with established vascular disease or diabetes, statin therapy "has proven remarkably effective, reducing the risk for stroke by 19% to 48%," Dr. Glynn said.

High-sensitivity (hs) CRP is an inflammatory biomarker that independently predicts future stroke, and elevated levels are markedly reduced by statin therapy, he said. Reduction of stroke risk, by statin therapy therefore might be "particularly notable" in individuals with elevated hs-CRP, Dr. Glynn said.

Among patients treated with rosuvastatin, LDL-cholesterol levels were cut in half, decreasing from a median 108 mg/dL at baseline to 55 mg/dL at 12 months. CRP levels were also significantly reduced, declining from 4.2 mg/L at baseline to 2.2 mg/L at 12 months. Triglyceride levels were reduced 17% from baseline among those treated with statin therapy. These effects persisted over the course of the study.