Markovic-Plese Silva, Singh Avtar K, Singh Inderjit
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Neurology, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Chapel Hill, NC, USA, Tel.: +1 919 966 3701;
Future Neurol. 2008 Mar 1;3(2):153. doi: 10.2217/14796708.3.2.153.
Statins as inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase are widely used as cholesterol-lowering drugs. Recent studies provide evidence that the anti-inflammatory activity of statins, which is independent of their cholesterol-lowering effects, may have potential therapeutic implications for neuroinflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer's disease and brain tumors, as well as traumatic spinal cord and brain injuries. Studies with animal models of MS suggest that, in addition to immunomodulatory activities similar to the ones observed with approved MS medications, statin treatment also protects the BBB, protects against neurodegeneration and may also promote neurorepair. Although the initial human studies on statin treatment for MS are encouraging, prospective randomized clinical studies will be required to evaluate their efficacy in the larger patient population.
他汀类药物作为3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶的抑制剂，被广泛用作降胆固醇药物。最近的研究表明，他汀类药物的抗炎活性与其降胆固醇作用无关，可能对多发性硬化症（MS）、阿尔茨海默病和脑肿瘤等神经炎症性疾病以及创伤性脊髓和脑损伤具有潜在的治疗意义。对MS动物模型的研究表明，除了具有与已批准的MS药物类似的免疫调节活性外，他汀类药物治疗还能保护血脑屏障，预防神经退行性变，还可能促进神经修复。尽管最初关于他汀类药物治疗MS的人体研究令人鼓舞，但仍需要进行前瞻性随机临床研究，以评估其在更大患者群体中的疗效。
