Research Article Response to Statin Therapy in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

Copyright © 2014 Marie Joyeux-Faure et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Rationale.Accumulated evidence implicates sympathetic activation as inducing oxidative stress and systemic inflammation, which in turn lead to hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, and atherosclerosis in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Statins through their pleiotropic properties may modify inflammation, lipid profile, and cardiovascular outcomes in OSA. Methods. This multicenter, randomized, double-blind study compared the effects of atorvastatin 40mg/day versus placebo over 12 weeks on endothelial function (the primary endpoint) measured by peripheral arterial tone (PAT). Secondary endpoints included office blood pressure (BP), early carotid atherosclerosis, arterial stiffness measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV), and metabolic parameters. Results. 5