Rosuvastatin and Ischemia Reperfusion

Statins, including rosuvastatin, are drugs that lower plasma cholesterol and prevent atherosclerotic disease. Recent preclinical evidence suggests that statins also increase tissue tolerance to ischemia-reperfusion injury.

This is a randomized, double blind, parallel designed study comparing the effect of 1 week treatment with rosuvastatin (20 mg, once a day) with placebo on forearm ischemia-reperfusion injury in healthy male volunteers. Forearm ischemia-reperfusion injury is quantified with Tc-99m-annexin A5 scintigraphy of the hands after a standardized ischemic exercise test. For this purpose, Tc-99m-rh-annexin A5 (400 MBq; < 5 mSv) is injected intravenously upon reperfusion, followed by scintigraphy of both hands with a gamma camera at 1 and 4 hours after injection. Annexin A5 targeting is calculated as the percentage difference in activity (counts/pixel) between the thenar muscles of both hands.