Effect of Rosuvastatin on the Echolucency of the Common Carotid Intima-Media in Low-Risk Individuals: The METEOR Trial
Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, 08/20/2012
Clinical Article
Lind L et al. - Treatment with rosuvastatin did not affect the echolucency of the arterial wall in all low-risk individuals. However, a potential effect of rosuvastatin on the echolucency of the common carotid intima-media is most likely to be found in individuals with echolucent arterial walls at baseline.
Methods- Data from the Measuring Effects on Intima-Media Thickness: An Evaluation of Rosuvastatin study were used.
- Ultrasound images from the far walls of the left and right common carotid arteries were used for evaluation of the echolucency of the carotid intima-media, measured by grayscale median (GSM).
- Low GSM values reflect echolucent structures, whereas high values reflect echogenic structures.
- The primary end point was the difference in the annual rate of change in GSM between rosuvastatin and placebo.
- Two-year change in GSM did not significantly differ between rosuvastatin and placebo in the total population, with a mean difference in the rate of change in GSM of 1.13 (95% confidence interval, -1.00 to 3.25).
- The effect of rosuvastatin differed across quintiles of baseline GSM values (P for interaction = .01).
- In the lowest quintile (n = 175) (i.e., in those with the most echolucent intima-media), the difference in the rate of change in GSM between rosuvastatin and placebo was 4.18 (95% confidence interval, -0.23 to 8.58).
- Increases in GSM were significantly related to decreasing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in the lowest quintile (beta = 0.76; 95% confidence interval, 0.26 to 1.25).
