Effects of rosuvastatin on lipids, lipoproteins and apolipoproteins in the dyslipidaemia of diabetes

Aims: To compare the effects of rosuvastatin and atorvastatin 10 and 20 mg on plasma lipid and lipoprotein profiles in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus and triglycerides ≤ 6.0 mmol/l. Methods: A double-blind, randomized, multicentre study to assess the effect of rosuvastatin and atorvastatin, at 10 mg/day for 8 weeks followed by 20 mg/day for a further 8 weeks, on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), together with a range of secondary lipid and lipoprotein end points. Results: Rosuvastatin reduced mean LDL-C levels from baseline over 16 weeks by 57.4%, while atorvastatin reduced mean LDL-C levels by 46.0% over the same period. The difference in LDL-C reduction between treatments was statistically significant (P <0.001). Rosuvastatin also produced statistically significantly greater mean reductions from baseline in levels of total cholesterol, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and lipid ratios. More patients achieved European LDL-C (<2.5 mmol/l) and total cholesterol (<4.5 mmol/l) goals with rosuvastatin than with atorvastatin. Rosuvastatin was associated with a significantly (P <0.049) greater mean percentage increase in glycated haemoglobin (HbA 1c) from baseline compared with atorvastatin; however, patients in both treatment groups maintained good glycaemic control. Both rosuvastatin and atorvastatin were well tolerated. Conclusions: Greater reductions in LDL-C were achieved with rosuvastatin compared with equal doses of atorvastatin, enabling more patients with Type 2 diabetes to achieve European LDL-C goals. © 2007 The Authors.