The Effects of Atorvastatin in Patients With Atherosclerosis
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2007-03-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effects of Atorvastatin.
The investigators want to find out if atorvastatin has other helpful qualities. The
investigators are interested in finding out if medicines like atorvastatin are useful even in
people who do not have high levels of bad cholesterol and would like to understand other
mechanisms by which this medicine helps prevent further blood vessel disease.
Hypotheses:
1. Atorvastatin reduces Rho kinase activity (in leukocytes) rapidly, within days, in
patients with atherosclerosis.
2. Any decrease in Rho kinase activity with statin therapy will be accompanied by
improvement in familiar markers of atherosclerosis.