Pravastatin therapy increases procollagen I N-terminal propeptide (PINP), a marker of bone formation in post-menopausal women

Abstract

Background: The aim of our study was to evaluate whether pravastatin treatment affected biochemical markers of bone turnover. Methods: Thirty-six hypercholesterolemic post-menopausal women, not on hormonal replacement therapy, were selected from a population study evaluating factors affecting cholesterol response to pravastatin. After a 6-week period on a 30% fat diet, participants received treatment with 20 mg/day of pravastatin during a 16-week follow-up period. Pre- and post-treatment samples were analyzed for procollagen I aminoterminal peptide (PINP) and bone alkaline phosphatase (bAP) as markers of bone formation, carboxyterminal telopeptide of collagen I (CTX) as a marker of bone resorption, and procollagen III aminoterminal propeptide (PIIINP) as a marker of fibrogenesis. Results: Total cholesterol decreased from 7.26±0.83 to 6.1±0.77 mmol/l with pravastatin treatment. PINP levels significantly increased (from 33.6±13 to 37.4±16, p=0.03) without changes in bAP or CTX. Individual changes in PINP correlated with individual reduction in cholesterol levels ( r=0.337, p=0.04). There was no significant change in PIIINP concentration. Conclusions: Pravastatin treatment increased PINP levels, a marker of bone formation, in hypercholesterolemic, post-menopausal women, without affecting bone resorption. PIIINP concentration, a marker of liver fibrogenesis, was not affected by the treatment.