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Lipid Control and Beyond: Current and Future Indications for Statin Therapy in Stroke

  • Cerebrovascular Disease and Stroke (N Rost, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Opinion statement

Statins are a group of lipid-lowering agents that are competitive inhibitors of the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase that have been used to reduce cholesterol levels and prevent cardiovascular events. Statins have been also shown to reduce the risk of stroke. In this review, we cover the role of statins in cerebrovascular disease through lipid-lowering mechanisms and other “pleiotropic” effects that provide protection against cerebrovascular events and potentially contribute to improve functional outcome after stroke.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Division of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 593 Eddy St. APC 530, Providence, RI, 02903, USA

    Shadi Yaghi MD

  2. Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Mitchell S. V. Elkind MD, MS

  3. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Mitchell S. V. Elkind MD, MS

Authors
  1. Shadi Yaghi MD
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  2. Mitchell S. V. Elkind MD, MS
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Correspondence to Shadi Yaghi MD.

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Conflict of Interest

Dr. Yaghi received funding from the New York Stroke Trials Network of Columbia and Cornell (NYCCSTN, NINDS U10NS086728).

Dr. Elkind receives compensation for providing consultative services for Biotelemetry/Cardionet, BMS-Pfizer Partnership, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Daiichi-Sankyo, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals; serves on the National, Founders Affiliate, and New York City chapter boards of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association; and receives royalties from UpToDate for chapters related to cryptogenic stroke and hemicraniectomy.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Cerebrovascular Disease and Stroke

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Yaghi, S., Elkind, M.S.V. Lipid Control and Beyond: Current and Future Indications for Statin Therapy in Stroke. Curr Treat Options Cardio Med 18, 27 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11936-016-0448-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11936-016-0448-8

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