The prospective randomized clinical trial of Malaguarnera and colleagues, published in the current issue of Hepatitis Monthly, investigates the potential role of a commercially available HMG Co-A reductase agent—rosuvastatin (Crestor, Astra Zeneca) —in combination with non-pegylated interferon and ribavirin in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (HCV). HMG Co-A reductase agents, commonly referred to as statins, are popular agents prescribed throughout the world, for their cholesterol lowering effects in order to reduce the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. They are well-recognized to improve liver biochemistry in dyslipidemic patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (1); but recent reports have suggested that they may possess an antiviral effect on HCV independent of their lipid lowering activity. In an in vitro study (2), various statin agents were reported to have differing effects on HCV replication in combination with interferon with fluvastatin (Lescol, Novartis) exhibiting the strongest anti-HCV activity, atorvastatin (Lipitor, Pfizer) had moderate activity whereas pravastatin (Pravachol, Bristol Myers Squibb) had no activity. Likewise, the combination of statins—specifically simvistatin and mevastatin—in combination with protease/polymerase inhibitor agents were found to clear HCV replicons from culture (3). It is interesting that this in vitro study also found that pravastatin exhibited no antiviral activity (3). Clinically, the experience of statin agents in the treatment of HCV has not been very well-studied and the reported outcomes have been interesting yet at times conflicting. Fluvastatin monotherapy was reported to produce a modest 1.75 log decrease in HCV viral load in HCV monoinfected patients (4).

Background: Rosuvastatin is the newest statin family drug and acts as an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor. Rosuvastatin can decrease the amount of cholesterol made by the liver and reduce the risk of heart disease. Since liver diseases are one of the significant causes of morbidity and mortality due to drugs toxicity, it is essential to check the liver’, s function during widely used drugs such as rosuvastatin. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of rosuvastatin on the liver in the mature female NMRI mouse strain. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 30 adult female NMRI strains (mice) at a mean weight of 25-30 grams were divided into five groups control, sham, and treatment groups. The mice of treated groups, including 1, 2, and 3, received rosuvastatin in doses of 10, 20, and 40 mg/Kg of body mass by oral gavage for 21 days. The mice in all groups were dissected after completing the gavage, their hearts were examined, and blood samples were obtained to measure liver enzymes. Then, the mice were sacrificed, and the liver tissue was subjected to antioxidant enzymes. The ELISA test measured the concentrations of the antioxidant and liver enzymes. Results: The results showed that rosuvastatin decreased GPX, MDA, and FRAP with an increase in SOD, AST, and ALT (P<0. 05). Conclusion: It was concluded that high doses of rosuvastatin could damage the liver.

Purpose: Rosuvastatin is a poorly water soluble drug and the rate of its oral absorption is often controlled by the dissolution rate in the gastrointestinal tract. Hence it is necessary to increase the solubility of the Rosuvastatin.Methods: Several liquisolid tablets formulations containing various drug concentrations in liquid medication (ranging from 15% to 25% w/w) were prepared. The ratio of Avicel PH 102 (carrier) to Aerosil 200 (coating powder material) was kept 10, 20, 30. The prepared liquisolid systems were evaluated for their flow properties and possible drug-excipient interactions by Infrared spectra (IR) analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X- ray powder diffraction (XRPD).Results: The liquisolid system showed acceptable flow properties. The IR and DSC studies demonstrated that there is no significant interaction between the drug and excipients. The XRPD analysis confirmed formation of a solid solution inside the compact matrix. The tabletting properties of the liquisolid compacts were within the acceptable limits. Liquisolid compacts demonstrated significantly higher drug release rates than those of conventional and marketed tablet due to increasing wetting properties and surface area of the drug.Conclusion: This study shows that liquisolid technique is a promising alternative for improvement of the dissolution rate of water insoluble drug.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are a main cause of disease burden in developing and developed countries. This study aimed to evaluate the cost-utility of rosuvastatin 20 mg in contrast with no intervention for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in Iran. Materials and Methods: The costs and utility of rosuvastatin 20 mg were compared to nonintervention in patients with cardiovascular disease for the whole lifetime horizon in this study using the Markov model. Cost and utility data were taken from literature. After estimating the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, a sensitivity analysis was performed using TreeAge Pro 2011 software to cope with uncertainty. Results: Based on finding, the expected cost and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) of using rosuvastatin 20 mg were $300 and 12, and the values for no intervention were $56 and $10, respectively. Given the threshold of $20800, using rosuvastatin 20 mg was cost-effective compared to no intervention and the incremental cost was $122 per QALY. The results showed that the highest costs were related to admission to the coronary care unit (CCU) ward. Moreover, among the costs of paraclinical services, the highest were those of echocardiography. Furthermore, Troponin accounted for most of the cost of laboratory tests. Conclusion: It is recommended that policymakers consider using rosuvastatin 20 mg by cardiologists while designing clinical guidelines for the diagnosis of patients with cardiovascular diseases. Because of the high cost of cardiovascular diseases in Iran, it is suggested that policymakers should consider cost control strategies to impose lower costs on patients.

Introduction: According to studies, statins possess analgesics and anti-inflammatory properties. In the present study, we examined the antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects of rosuvastatin in an experimental model of Chronic Constriction Injury (CCI).Methods: Our study was conducted on four groups; sham, CCI (the control group), CCI+rosuvastatin (i.p.5 mg/kg), and CCI+rosuvastatin (i.p.10 mg/kg). We performed heat hyperalgesia, cold and mechanical allodynia tests on the 3rd, 7th, 14th, and 21st after inducing CCI. Blood samples were collected to measure the serum levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) -a, and Interleukin (IL) -6. Rats’ spinal cords were also examined to measure tissue concentration of Malondialdehyde (MDA), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), and Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) enzymes.Results: Our findings showed that CCI resulted in significant increase in heat hyperalgesia, cold and mechanical allodynia on the 7th, 14th and 21st day. Rosuvastatin use attenuated the CCI-induced hyperalgesia and allodynia. Rosuvastatin use also resulted in reduction of TNF-a, IL-6, and MDA levels. However, rosuvastatin therapy increased the concentration of SOD and GPx in the CCI+Ros (5 mg/kg) and the CCI+Ros (10 mg/kg) groups compared to the CCI group.Conclusion: Rosuvastatin attenuated the CCI-induced neuropathic pain and inflammation. Thus, antinociceptive effects of rosuvastatin might be channeled through inhibition of inflammatory biomarkers and antioxidant properties.