Does Rosuvastatin Reduce Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Humans In-Vivo? A Randomized Double Blind Placebo Controlled Trial

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.