Korean J Intern Med.  2008 Mar;23(1):22-29. 10.3904/kjim.2008.23.1.22.

Flexible Initial Dosing of Atorvastatin Based Upon Initial Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

• Atorvastatin Study Group in Korea

• KMID: 1382658
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2008.23.1.22

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We used flexible starting doses and early titration of atorvastatin to determine the rate of achievement of a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) target for hyperlipidemic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: This study was a multicenter, open-label, prospective trial of atorvastatin therapy in hyperlipidemic patients with type 2 diabetes. The patients were divided into three groups according to initial LDL-C levels (130-149, 150-159 and > or =160 mg/dL), and 10, 20, and 40 mg of atorvastatin was administered to each group, respectively. If LDL-C did not reach the 100 mg/dL target level at four weeks after initiation of treatment, the doses were increased by one step. Endothelial function tests and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 levels were measured in 41 patients. RESULTS: Groups of 62, 18, and 69 patients were started on 10, 20, and 40 mg of atorvastatin, respectively, and 91% of the patients achieved the LDL-C target after four weeks of treatment. The overall percentage of patients achieving the LDL-C target after eight weeks of treatment was 89.3%: 87.5% in the 10 mg group, 86.4% in the 20 mg group, 93.9% in the 40 mg group, and 66.7% in the 80 mg group. A statistically significant reduction was observed in the mean percentage change in flow-mediated endothelium-dependent dilatation after eight weeks of treatment (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Flexible initial dosing and early aggressive titration of atorvastatin according to LDL-C levels is an efficient and safe strategy for achieving the target level and for improving endothelial dysfunction in hyperlipidemic patients with type 2 diabetes.

Keyword

Atorvastatin; Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C); Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Flow-mediated endothelium-dependent dilatation (FMD); Flow-mediated endothelium-independent dilation (EID)

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Anticholesteremic Agents/*administration & dosage/therapeutic use
Brachial Artery/physiopathology
Cholesterol, LDL/*blood
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/blood/*complications
Endothelium, Vascular/drug effects/physiopathology
Female
Heptanoic Acids/*administration & dosage/therapeutic use
Humans
Hypercholesterolemia/blood/*complications/*drug therapy
Male
Middle Aged
Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1/metabolism
Prospective Studies
Pyrroles/*administration & dosage/therapeutic use
Regional Blood Flow/physiology
Time Factors
Treatment Outcome