COPD, Inflammation
Conditions
Keywords
COPD, Inflammation, CRP levels, simvastatin
Brief summary
Hypothesis for this pilot study is that simvastatin will lower the levels of CRP and ET-1 in COPD patients.
Detailed description
Patients with chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) have an ongoing systemic inflammation, which can be assessed by measuring C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP is found to be a strong and independent predictor of future COPD outcomes. Statins are a class of cholesterol lowering drugs that decrease mortality from cardiovascular disease and stroke. In addition, they have anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic and immunomodulatory properties. Statins lower C-reactive protein by the ability to reduce the production of interleukin (IL)-6, the cytokine that activates the acute phase CRP response. Thus the rationale for this study is to evaluate effect of statins on the levels of CRP and ET-1 in COPD patients.
Interventions
DRUGsimvastatin
40 mg po daily
Sponsors
VA Loma Linda Health Care System
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
40 Years to 79 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Medically optimized COPD patients * Age 40-79 years. * serum CRP levels \>3mg/l
Exclusion criteria
* Current smoker * COPD exacerbation in the last 2 months. * Active hepatic or severe renal dysfunction. * connective tissue disease, chronic inflammatory disease, malignancy, any acute illness, leukocytosis (\>10,000 white blood cells) or thrombocytosis (\>450,000 platelets). * Recent h/o myocardial infarction, angina in the last 6 months. * Pregnancy.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| serum CRP levels | 9 weeks |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed