Non-LDL statin effects credited with improving stroke functional outcomes

Among patients presenting to the emergency department with ischemic stroke in a prospective cohort study, those with LDL cholesterol in the normal range thanks to statin therapy were later discharged in a significantly better functional state than those who had normal baseline LDL-C levels without the help of statins. The findings, which were independent of patient age, sex, and stroke severity, are consistent with observational evidence that stroke outcomes are improved in patients already on statins. But they go a step further by suggesting that at least some of those benefits are due to non-LDL-lowering effects of the drugs, according to the authors, led by Dr Latha G Stead (University of Rochester Medical Center, NY). Their report appears in the March-April 2009 issue of the Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases.