Statins inflame and destroy blood vessels

This paper was published in Clinical Rheumatology 2008 Dec;27 Suppl 2:S75-7

Study title and authors:
A case of ANCA-associated systemic vasculitis induced by atorvastatin.

Haroon M, Devlin J.
Department of Rheumatology, Waterford Regional Hospital, Waterford, Republic of Ireland. mharoon301@hotmail.com

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18839266

Vasculitis is a group of disorders that destroy blood vessels by inflammation. ANCA-associated vasculitides are diseases caused by vasculitis in which antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs) can be detected in the blood.

This paper reports a case of statin induced ANCA-associated vasculitides.

(i)  A 45-year-old male patient reported to an Accident and Emergency department with a six week history of pain and stiffness involving his legs. Both calves were markedly tender, and he was not able to bear weight.
(ii) He also complained of numbness involving his left big toe for a few days, which later spread to involve his arms, and tinnitus and hearing loss in his left ear.
(iii) He had been taking atorvastatin 10 mg for six months.
(iv) Investigations showed markedly increased inflammatory markers, markedly increased antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) levels and muscle damage.
(v) A diagnosis of statin-induced ANCA-associated vasculitis and statin-induced distal myopathy (muscle disease) was made.
(vi) The patients symptoms and laboratory abnormalities resolved rapidly after cessation of the statin drug and implementation of treatment.

This case shows the association between statins and ANCA-associated vasculitis.