Effects of increasing the dose of pravastatin on serum adiponectin level in Japanese mild hypercholesterolemic and hypertensive patients.

The plasma level of adiponectin (CAS 1070484-33-1), known as an anti-atherogenic adipocytokine, inversely correlates with the progression of atherosclerosis. The reported effects of statins on the serum level of adiponectin include significant increases in the adiponectin levels caused by pravastatin (CAS 81131-70-6). In this study, increasing the dosage of pravastatin was investigated to determine whether it had a clearly favorable effect on the adiponectin level in hypercholesterolemic patients. A total of 26 mild hypercholesterolemic and hypertensive patients were enrolled in this study. The patients were initially treated with pravastatin 10 mg/day for 6 months or more, and then increased to pravastatin 20 mg/day. Serum adiponectin, cholesterol fractionated components, and lipoprotein components were evaluated after 6 months. Increasing the dose of pravastatin from 10 to 20 mg/day caused the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels to decrease (from 130 to 104 mg/dL, p < 0.001), and thereafter the serum adiponectin levels, particularly the high-molecular-weight adiponectin levels significantly increased (from 10.9 to 12.6 microg/mL, p = 0.022; from 6.6 to 7.6 microg/mL, p = 0.022, respectively). Pravastatin increased the serum adiponectin level after increasing the dosage from 10 to 20 mg/day. It remains possible, however, that the difference was due not only to pharmacologic effects, but also to other specific characteristics such as the subject characteristics, viz.; race, body size, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, etc.