Influence of rosuvastatin dose on total fatty acids and free fatty acids in plasma: Correlations with lipids involved in cholesterol homeostasis.

This study investigates for the first time the influence of four doses of rosuvastatin on total fatty acids (TFA) and free fatty acids (FFA) in human plasma and correlates their changes in concentration with changes in the concentration of other lipids involved in cholesterol homeostasis.This study was a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, crossover experiment. The study used a single group of 16 men and consisted of 5 treatment periods lasting 4 weeks each with placebo and 4 doses of rosuvastatin (5, 10, 20, and 40 mg). Each subject changed 5 medical treatments and received in each new treatment different tablets of rosuvastatin or placebo compared to those taken in previous treatments, in a random order. Between treatment periods there was a wash-out period of 2 weeks, without treatment.Changes in TFA and FFA were significant compared to placebo and between different doses of rosuvastatin. We found a continuous logarithmic decrease in levels of TFA, FFA, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids, and apolipoprotein B-100, and a continuous increase in levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-1 by increases the dose of rosuvastatin. Analysis of the correlation of TFA and FFA with the main lipids and lipoproteins in cholesterol homeostasis indicated a linear regression with high correlation coefficients and all P-values were less than .05 level.The concentrations of TFA and FFA are significantly influenced by the dose of rosuvastatin. They are strongly correlated with those of other lipids and lipoproteins involved in cholesterol homeostasis. The mechanisms of cholesterol homeostasis regulation are involved in changing the concentrations of TFA and FFA.

Effect of rosuvastatin on the concentration of each fatty acid in the fraction of free fatty acids and total lipids in human plasma: The role of cholesterol homeostasis.

Each fatty acid (FA) or class of FAs has a different behavior in the pathologies of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in the concentration of each fatty acid in the fraction of free fatty acids (FFAs) and total lipids in human plasma after short-term therapy with rosuvastatin as a cholesterol-lowering statin drug. Six hypercholesterolemic men on a habitual diet were studied in a randomized, double-blind, and crossover process. They received 20 mg rosuvastatin or placebo in random order, each for 4 weeks and after 2 weeks of washout period, they received another medication (placebo or rosuvastatin) for another period of 4 weeks. Rosuvastatin treatment significantly decreased the absolute concentrations of saturated and monounsaturated FAs in the total FAs as well as in FFAs. Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids with 20 and 22 carbon atoms in the molecule had no significant change in the fraction of FFAs. Rosuvastatin is directly involved in cholesterol biosynthesis and indirectly through cholesterol homeostasis in the biosynthesis of other plasma lipids. In conclusion, our findings show that rosuvastatin treatment leads to significant changes in the concentration of each fatty acid, except for long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in FFAs. Our observations indicate that cholesterol homeostasis through its regulatory mechanisms appears to be the main cause of changes in the concentration of each plasma fatty acid during rosuvastatin treatment. These changes can be a source of beneficial consequences, in addition to lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in cardiovascular diseases.