ABSTRACT Short-term in vitro experiments provide evidence that lipophilic statin blocks KATP channel which may improve insulin secretion, whereas, short incubation with hydrophilic statins has no effect on KATP channel. The present study aimed at observing the early effect of atorvastatin and rosuvastatin on glucose levels of prediabetic patients with hypercholesterolemia given the well-established difference in lipophilicity of these two statins. In the present study, thirty-five prediabetic patients with hypercholesterolemia were randomly allocated to 2 groups atorvastatin (n = 20) and rosuvastatin (n = 15); each patient received 20 mg per day of either treatment for 6-weeks. Serum levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were analyzed before and after 6-weeks of administration. Besides significant improvement in lipid profile, atorvastatin consumption for 6-weeks significantly reduced serum levels of FBG (107.6 mg/dl ± 1.326 vs basal 124.5 mg/dl ± 1.381; P = 0.001) and HbA1c (5.616% ± 0.1039 vs basal 6.413% ± 0.1277 P < 0.0001). Similarly, rosuvastatin reduced FBG (109.6 mg/dl ± 3.124 6 vs basal 123.6 mg/dl ± 1.536), and HbA1c (5.075% ± 0.1181 vs basal 5.925% ± 0.1548). However, there was no statistically significant difference between atorvastatin and rosuvastatin on FBG and HbA1c after 6-weeks treatment. In conclusion, both atorvastatin and rosuvastatin exert early improvement in plasma glucose in prediabetic patients with hypercholesterolemia. Further and more powered studies are needed to confirm this observation in diabetic patients; moreover, the studies should include groups on long-term therapy with statin to improve the quality of the result and to reduce the limitation of short-durations.
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