Atorvastatin (Lipitor) is one of the statins that have been known for their lipid-lowering effects, as well as their pleiotropic functions. The current study aimed to evaluate some pleiotropic effects of 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg b. wt of atorvastatin, orally administered to hypercholesterolemic male rats, daily for 4 weeks. The changes in body weights were tracked throughout the experiment. The study investigated serum lipid profile, atherogenic and coronary artery indices. Regarding erythrocytes membranes fluidity, erythrocytes membrane lipids and cholesterol were estimated. Regarding the antithrombotic effect of atorvastatin, complete blood count and coagulation tests including, prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen, antithrombin III, protein C, and protein S were also assessed. High-intense doses (40 and 80 mg/kg b. wt) of atorvastatin attenuated obesity, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia and LDL-C concentrations. Moreover, these doses of atorvastatin reduced erythrocytes membranes lipid level. Further, both doses attenuated platelets count, and increased antithrombin III and protein C, in comparison with untreated hypercholesterolemic rats. In conclusion, high-intense doses of atorvastatin exhibited anti-obesity and lipid-lowering effects. Moreover, these doses also showed pleiotropic potentials represented by improvement of the fluidity of erythrocytes membranes, reduction of coagulation and thrombosis development, which would prevent future incidence of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.
Key words: Atorvastatin, hypercholesterolemia, erythrocytes membranes fluidity, antithrombotic effect.
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