Effects of atorvastatin combined with aspirin on inflammatory factors, carotid artery plaque and neurological deficits in patients with acute ischemic stroke

Abstract

Objective To analyze the effects of atorvastatin and aspirin on inflammatory factors, carotid artery plaque and the degree of neurological impairment in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods Seventy-eight patients with acute ischemic stroke from February 2015 to May 2015 were selected. According to the different treatment plan, they were divided into control group (n=39) and study group (n=39). The control group was only treated with aspirin, the study group was treated with aspirin and atorvastatin.The neural function defect degree (NIHSS) and activities of daily living (BI) score, blood lipid indexes of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerol (TG), inflammatory factor [high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), lipoprotein associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) and oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)] levels and carotid artery plaque area were compared between the two groups before and after treatment.And the stenosis rate changes were followed up after 6 months, and the disease recurrence rate of the two groups were analyzed. Results The NIHSS score and BI score had no significant difference between the two groups before treatment ( P>0.05); after treatment the NIHSS score and BI score were better than those in the control group, the differences were significant (P 0.05); After treatment, the levels of above indexes in the study group were better than those in the control group, the differences were significant (P<0.05). The recurrence rate (2.56%) in the study group was lower than that in the control group (20.51%), and the difference was significant (P<0.05). Conclusions The combination of atorvastatin and aspirin therapy is effective on acute ischemic stroke , which can significantly improve the blood lipid, inflammatory factors and carotid plaque levels, improve neurological function and activities of daily living, and reduce the relapse rate of the disease. Key words: Atorvastatin; Aspirin; Acute ischemic stroke; Inflammatory factor; Carotid artery plaque