RGH STUDY LOOKS AT EFFECT OF STATIN TREATMENT ON ASTHMA

Patients with asthma who take statins may experience increased asthma symptoms.
A recent study conducted at Rochester General Hospital investigated the experience of asthma patients who were taking statins. Those asthmatics who were taking statins during the time of the study demonstrated an increase in the severity of their asthma symptoms and more frequent asthma episodes.

Statins, a group of cholesterol lowering medications, have been shown to have other effects, such as modulation of the immune response, specifically by altering ìT-cells,î an important regulator of the immune system. It is through this mechanism that statins are felt to adversely affect asthma.
ìWe looked at allergic asthma which is the most common form,î stated Dr. Elizabeth Friedman, of the Department of Allergy and Immunology at Rochester General Hospital. ìAlthough the number of patients in the study was small, patients with asthma who were also taking statins had a more severe course of asthma.î
Dr. Marina Ostroukhova, a member of the Department of Internal Medicine at Rochester General Hospital and an investigator in the study, is cautious about drawing any final conclusions, adding that this is a preliminary study. Patients were studied during a period of two years and overall did not show a continued worsening of their asthma. Dr Friedman explains that ìpossibly the addition of statins causes only a modest worsening of asthma. Once medications are adjusted, patientsí lung function might not continue to decline.î
ìFor now, we would not suggest that asthmatic patients who are also taking statins change their medication. While the results of the study are significant, the study raises questions that still need to be answered before any final conclusions can be stated,î says Dr. Ostroukhova.
The results of the study at Rochester General Hospital will be presented to the American Thoracic Societyís International Meeting in San Francisco on May 20, 2007.

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