New research suggests that treatment with the cholesterol drug simvastatin
significantly reduces lung damage resulting from severe abdominal sepsis and
infection.
"We hope that this study will not only provide new knowledge about the
complicated pathophysiology behind abdominal sepsis, but also form the basis for
more effective and specific treatment options for patients with severe
infections," said Henrik Thorlacius, a researcher involved in the workfrom the
Department of Surgery at Skane University Hospital at Lund University, Malmo,
Sweden.
To make this discovery, the researchers studied mice with a punctured
intestinal bowel and treated half with a statin drug, simvastatin, and the
others with only water.
The animals treated with simvastatin had much less lung injury than those
only given water. Additionally, the simvastatin-treated group demonstrated
significantly fewer inflammatory cells in the lung, as well as reduced levels of
pro-inflammatory substances.
The study was recently published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.
(ANI)
