Evaluation of the Antinociceptive Action of Simvastatin in Mice

Statins are well-established agents for dyslipidemia and have successfully been used for the prevention of coronary artery diseases for a long time; this is attributed not only to their lipid-lowering action but also to their pleiotropic actions. Recently many pleiotropic actions of statins have been explored, but very few studies were done to explore statins' antinociceptive action; therefore, the current study was planned to evaluate the antinociceptive activity of Simvastatin in different pain models in mice.

Antinociceptive activity of Simvastatin was evaluated by using Eddy's hot plate method (central analgesic model), acetic acid-induced writhing method (peripheral analgesic model), and biphasic formalin-induced paw licking method. Twenty-four mice were divided into four groups (n = 6 in each): Vehicle control group, simvastatin 5mg/kg, simvastatin 20mg/kg, and positive control group.

In the hot plate method, as compared to the vehicle control group, Simvastatin 20mg/kg group showed a significant rise in the reaction time to the corresponding time interval (p<0.001). While the simvastatin 5mg/kg group did not show any significant analgesic activity in the hot plate test. In the acetic acid writhing method, both test groups show a significant delay in the onset of writhing and a decrease in the number of writhes as compared to the vehicle control group (P<0.001). While in the formalin test, both groups show dose-dependent analgesic activity in both the early and late phases.

Simvastatin exhibits analgesic activity in both central as well as peripheral models of analgesia, but central analgesia shows only at higher concentrations. Similarly, it inhibits inflammatory pain more predominantly than neurogenic, and hence simvastatin can be used in inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis particularly when there is coexisting dyslipidemia.