Figure 4.
Simvastatin inhibits lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α concentration. Healthy human volunteers inhaled 50 μg LPS. Simvastatin or placebo was administered for 4 days before LPS inhalation. Bronchoaveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was obtained 6 hours after inhalation of LPS and supernatants were analyzed for (A) TNF-α and (B) IL-1β. Data are shown for the 10 subjects in the placebo group and the 20 subjects in the combined simvastatin group. Open bars = placebo; solid bars = simvastatin. Data are medians (interquartile range). *P < 0.05 versus placebo.