Table 3.

Effect of atorvastatin on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and other biomarkers of inflammation in subjects with metabolic syndrome

Variable			Atorvastatin
	Placebo		10 mg/d		80 mg/d
	Baseline	Week 12	Baseline	Week 12	Baseline	Week 12
hs-CRP (mg/L)	3.7 (2.1–4.6)	2.3 (1.7–3.7)	4.1 (2.3–5.9)	3.4 (1.9–4.8)	3.7 (2.9–5.3)	2.2* (1.9–3.1)
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (ng/ml)	11 ± 6	2 ± 6	12 ± 5	10 ± 6	13 ± 6	9 ± 6†
NF-κB (ng/mg protein)	43 ± 26	38 ± 20	45 ± 27	37 ± 24	44 ± 33	28 ± 23†
sCD40L (ng/ml)	1.0 ± 0.9	0.8 ± 0.8	1.1 ± 1.0	1.2 ± 1.4	1.1 ± 1.0	1.2 ± 1.4
Monocyte cytokines (ng/mg protein) Interleukin-6	233 ± 250	342 ± 373	329 ± 274	273 ± 324	428 ± 432	323 ± 288
Tumor necrosis factor-α	27 ± 39	28 ± 49	26 ± 33	29 ± 31	31 ± 29	24 ± 27

Data expressed as mean ± SD or median (25th to 75th percentile).

^*p <0.01 compared with baseline.

^†p <0.05 compared with baseline.