Effect of rosuvastatin on sortilin and fetuin-A in type 2 diabetic patients: a randomized controlled trial

Objective Rosuvastatin is a drug used for decreasing the risk of cardiovascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. It is hypothesized that fetuin-A encourages lipid-induced insulin resistance and sortilin may increase the risk of atherosclerotic-related disorders. The aim of this study is to investigate the safety and efficacy of rosuvastatin co-treatment in T2DM patients and its effect on levels of sortilin and fetuin-A. Methods Seventy T2DM patients treated with glimepiride and metformin were randomly assigned to either co-treated with rosuvastatin 10 mg tablets (rosuvastatin group, n = 40), or placebo (placebo group, n = 30) daily for 3 months in a parallel, double-blind randomized controlled trial. Blood was collected for biochemical analysis. Serum sortilin and fetuin-A levels, glycemic and lipid profiles were measured before and 3 months after intervention. Results Fasting blood glucose (FBG, mg/dl) significantly decreased in placebo and rousvastatin groups from (104 +/- 7.24 to 96.67 +/- 7.14 vs 102.8 +/- 6.43 to 93.0 +/- 4.71), respectively, compared with baseline (p < 0.05). BMI and HbA1c decreased in placebo vs rosuvastatin group (29.20 +/- 3.18 to 28.10 +/-; 3.08, p=0.08 vs 28.67 +/- 3.56 to 27.66 +/- 3.16, p = 0.27), and (6.59 +/- 0.27 to 6.36 +/- 0.27 vs 6.56 +/- 0.26 to 6.29 +/- 0.25), respectively, compared with baseline (p <= 0.001) with no significance difference between both groups (p = 0.58 and p = 0.25, respectively). Sortilin and fetuin-A levels significantly decreased in rosuvastatin vs placebo group from (1.77 +/- 0.41 to 0.64 +/- 0.37 vs 1.70 +/- 0.36 to 1.65 +/- 0.36) and from (295.33 +/- 52.04 to 179.75 +/- 60.22 vs 307.22 +/- 50.11 to 288.94 +/- 49.53), respectively, compared with baseline with significance difference between both groups (p < 0.001) compared with placebo. Significant positive correlation was found between sortilin with fetuin-A, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), and atherogenic index (p < 0.001). Significant positive correlation was observed between fetuin-A with FBG (p < 0.05) and atherogenic index (p < 0.001). Conclusion Rosuvastatin co-treatment in T2DM patients improves glycemic control and aids in decreasing the atherogenic biomarkers sortilin and fetuin-A levels, so it can be considered tolerable and efficient in improving lipid profile and atherogenic index.