Isley William L, Harris William S, Miles John M
Endocrine Research Unit, Division of Endocrinology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Metabolism. 2006 Jun;55(6):758-62. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2006.01.013.
Statins improve all major lipid fractions, reduce coronary heart disease risk, and may have a minor effect on glucose tolerance. A reduction in free fatty acid flux and concentrations could be partly responsible for these effects. We measured nocturnal and postprandial plasma palmitate concentrations and rate of appearance (R(a)) on 2 occasions in 12 obese dyslipidemic subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus, using a single-blind, crossover format (placebo followed by simvastatin, 80 mg/d), and also on 1 occasion in 6 untreated control subjects. The diabetic subjects had increased average nocturnal (127+/-13 vs 80+/-10 micromol/L, P<.05) and 2-hour postprandial (49+/-6 vs 17+/-2 micromol/L, P<.001) palmitate concentrations, as well as increased nocturnal (31.6+/-3.7 vs 19.5+/-3.7 mmol/m(2) over 9 hours, P<.05) and postprandial (11.5+/-3.7 vs 5.5+/-3.7 mmol/m(2) every 4 hours, P<.005) integrated palmitate R(a) compared to normal controls. High-dose simvastatin reduced serum triglycerides by 35% but had no effect on plasma palmitate concentrations or R(a). These results suggest that the triglyceride-lowering effect of statins is not mediated through an effect on FFA metabolism.
