3 Year simvastatin treatment and lens nuclear back scattering
Wen Qian, Per G Söderberg, Enping Chen, Karin Magnius, Bo Philipson
Research Laboratory,
St Erik's Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Correspondence to: Wen Qian, Research Laboratory, St Erik's Eye Hospital, S-112 82 Stockholm, Sweden wen.qian{at}brain.ste.ki.se
Accepted for publication 13 January 2000
AIM
To determine if 3 year treatment of hypercholesterolaemia with simvastatin causes an
increase of lens nuclear back scattering.
METHODS160 patients
with hypercholesterolaemia in the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival
Study (4S) were followed for 3 years. Half (80) of the patients took
simvastatin and half (80) received placebo. The lens was
photographed with a Topcon SL-45 slit lamp camera at the beginning and
at 1 year intervals. A common lens nuclear area was used for measuring
lens nuclear back scattering.
RESULTSNuclear back
scattering increased with age and there was more pronounced scattering
in women than in men. Lens nuclear back scattering did not differ
significantly between the simvastatin and placebo groups, but the power
was low (0.2). Lens nuclear back scattering increased during the study
period independently of baseline back scattering, age, and sex for both groups.
CONCLUSIONAlthough no
significant difference was found between the simvastatin and placebo
groups, the currently available data are insufficient for exclusion of
the possibility that taking simvastatin during a 3 year period
increases nuclear back scattering. However, a possible minor increase
of nuclear back scattering is clinically irrelevant considering known
beneficial effects of simvastatin on coronary heart disease.
© 2000 by British Journal of Ophthalmology
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