No effect of rosuvastatin in the zoledronate-induced acute-phase response

The acute-phase response (APR) is frequently observed in patients treated with intravenous (iv) zoledronate (ZOL). We investigated whether a short course of rosuvastatin (ROSU) could attenuate the ZOL--induced APR through blocking the mevalonate pathway at a proximal level. Twenty-eight osteoporotic postmenopausal women with no prior bisphosphonate use (mean age 65.3 ± 1.9 years) were subjected to ZOL iv infusion. Patients were randomly assigned into either a ROSU+ group (n = 12), which received ROSU 10 mg/day starting 5 days before the infusion of ZOL for a total period of 11 days, or a ROSU- group (n = 16), which did not receive ROSU. The visual analog pain scale (VAS) for musculoskeletal symptoms and body temperature was used to define clinically APR. In addition, white blood cell (WBC) count, leukocytic subpopulations, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were obtained before and 48 h following the infusion. Seven (58.3%) patients in the ROSU+ group and 13 (81.3%) in the ROSU- group experienced APR (P = not significant). No difference was found in fever and VAS measurements. CRP and granulocytes increased significantly in both groups; WBC count increased, while lymphocytes and eosinophils decreased significantly only in the ROSU- group. In a post hoc analysis of only patients with an APR, all laboratory parameters exhibited a similar significant change solely within the ROSU- group. In conclusion, our data suggest that a short course of ROS at this dose cannot prevent the ZOL-induced APR among osteoporotic women. Milder changes in acute-phase laboratory parameters in ROSU+ patients suggest that studies with higher doses may be warranted.