The Effect of Atorvastatin on the Human Lens After 52 Weeks of Treatment

Abstract

Background: The effect of atorvastatin calcium (Lipitor, Parke-Davis, Morris Plains, NJ) on the crystalline lenses of hypercholesterolemic patients was evaluated and compared with that of lovastatin after 52 weeks of treatment to reduce cholesterol levels.

Methods and Results: Six hundred ninety-six atorvastatin-treated and 235 lovastatin- treated patients completed a large safety study that included an ophthalmologic examina tion. Efficacy was evaluated as mean percent change from baseline in low-density lipopro tein (LDL) cholesterol. Patients received atorvastatin, 10 or 20 mg, or lovastatin, 20 or 40 mg, once daily for either 36 or 52 weeks. Patients were evaluated by slit-lamp examination, and a standardized format was used to describe the findings. Best corrected visual acuity was measured using the Snellen chart. Patients treated with atorvastatin had significantly ( P ≤ .05) greater decreases in LDL cholesterol than those treated with lovastatin (37% vs 29%). Although some patients in both groups experienced various lenticular opacities, none were considered unexpected. In addition, there were no significant (P ≤ .05) differences in the distribution of cortical opacities and spokes right eye (OD) and left eye (OS) and posterior subcapsular opacity (OS) between the atorvastatin and lovastatin groups. In general, the percent deterioration in best corrected visual acuity was similar in both groups. Overall, there were no clinically significant differences in the development of lenticular opacity between patients treated with atorvastatin and those treated with lovastatin.

Conclusions: Treatment with atorvastatin, 10 or 20 mg, significantly reduced LDL-cholesterol ( P < .05) and was not associated with an increased risk of lenticular opacity development compared with lovastatin, a widely prescribed compound in the same class of drugs.