MS is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the human central nervous system and it is thought to be related to abnormal working of the immune system. Preliminary studies have shown that statins, cholesterol lowering agents, have potential immunological regulation effects which may be beneficial for MS. Furthermore, statins are usually orally administered, are less expensive than other MS treatment, and are easily available.
The authors of this review evaluated the efficacy and safety of statins in relapsing-remitting MS patients. Among the pertinent literature, four studies, involving a total of 458 patients treated with statins as add-on treatment to interferon beta-1a were identified.
Two studies took into consideration atorvastatin, while the other two analysed simvastatin. Only three studies were found of good methodological quality.
The authors did not find convincing evidence that either atorvastatin or simvastatin can reduce relapses or prevent disease progression with a follow up at one and two years. No serious adverse events were reported and statins resulted to be safe and well tolerated. At present, the whole data do not support the use of statins as an adjunctive therapy in MS.