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Simvastatin-induced lupus-like syndrome.
A Ahmad1, M T Fletcher, T M Roy
1Department of Internal Medicine, James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City 37614-0622, USA.
Tennessee Medicine : Journal of the Tennessee Medical Association
|January 11, 2000
Summary
Simvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug, can cause rare immune reactions. This report details a patient experiencing pleurisy and arthralgia, symptoms of drug-induced lupus-like syndrome, after taking simvastatin.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology
- Immunology
- Cardiovascular Medicine
Background:
- 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors are commonly prescribed for lowering cholesterol.
- This drug class generally exhibits a good safety profile with few associated immunologic reactions.
- Previous reports have linked simvastatin to drug-induced lupus-like syndrome.