Effect of Pravastatin on Development of Diabetes Mellitus - A Statement of Review

According to the ADA, diabetes mellitus is defined as having fasting blood glucose levels >= 7.0mmol/l. Statins are the lipid-lowering agents used to treat dyslipidemia and act by inhibiting the HMG Co-A reductase enzyme. Very few studies have reported the results of drugs concerning the profile of blood lipids or which have anti-inflammatory activity behaviour on diabetes. Pravastatin is such a drug that shows inherent beneficial pleiotropic effects on plasma lipids and inflammatory actions. Pravastatin remarkably reduced the increased levels of plasma glucose when compared with the control group, subjecting to no change in body weight or food intake in mice. By performing certain insulin tolerance tests using tracers like 2- [3 H]-deoxy glucose (2DG), they concluded that insulin-induced glucose uptake is increased in adipose tissue. Pravastatin is shown to reduce the circulating concentration of the interleukin-6, cytokines, and TNF-alpha. Pravastatin's anti-inflammatory properties interrupt the natural progression from central obesity to insulin resistance mediated by cytokines from the adipose tissue. Pravastatin can significantly impact selective tissue perfusion through restoring the endothelial function and thus benefit the transportation of glucose and insulin.