Effect of Atorvastatin on Atherosclerosis and Serum NO and Endothelin in Intimal Injury Model

Objective To investigate the effect of atorvastatin on atherosclerosis serum NO and endothelin. Methods Twenty-nine healthy New Zealand White rabbits were randomly diverged into 4 groups:normal group（n7）, untreated group（n7）, 5-week atorvastatin treatment group（n7） （2.5 mg/kg·d） and 9-week atorvastatin treatment group（n8）（2.5 mg/kg·d）. The serum nitric oxide （NO）, endothelin （ET） were measured at the beginning and the end of the study. Aorta were stained to calculate the size of lesion area at the end of the study. Results The plaque area was reduced, serum NO level was remarkably elevated, while serum ET level was significantly reduced, as compared with untreated group. Conclusion Atorvastatin has antiatherogenetic effect and may ameliorates endothelial function.