Efficacy and adverse reaction to different doses of atorvastatin in the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus

Background: Type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a persistent metabolic disorder, is primarily characterized by insulin resistance, relative insulin deficiency and dyslipidemia. Here, we aimed to investigate whether different doses of atorvastatin (ATV) affect rats with T2DM. A total of 110 Sprague–Dawley rats were successfully established as T2DM models. Methods: First, the total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), high-/low-/very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c/LDL-c/VLDL-c), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr), apolipoprotein Al (ApoA1) and apolipoprotein B (ApoB) levels in rat serum were analyzed. In addition, cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) and retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) were also measured. Then, the incidence of adverse reactions was noted. Finally, the pathological study of liver and pancreatic tissues was performed. Results: Rats administered ATV at the doses of 40 and 80 mg/(kg·day) showed down-regulated TG, LDL-c, ApoB, CETP and RBP4 levels yet up-regulated HDL-c and ApoAl levels. Rats administered ATV at a dose of 80 mg/(kg·day) exhibited a higher incidence of adverse reactions and higher ALT and AST levels but lower BUN and Cr levels, which might affect liver and kidney function. Rats administered ATV at the doses of 40 and 80 mg/(kg·day) demonstrated significantly improved liver injury and pancreatic injury induced by T2DM. Conclusion: These data revealed that ATV could improve the lipid metabolism in T2DM rats and 40 mg/(kg·day) may serve as the optimal dose for the reduction of lipid levels and the incidence of adverse effects.