Cholesterol Drug May Ease Leg Pain

Sept. 2, 2003 -- The cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor may help put some pep in the step of people with clogged blood vessels in their legs.

Lipitor -- one of the cholesterol-lowering drugs called "statins" -- has been shown to reduce heart attacks, high cholesterol, and strokes in people with hardening of the arteries.

Now, new research shows that Lipitor has the added benefit of improving walking ability in people with intermittent claudication, a condition caused by blocked leg arteries that leads to cramping and fatigue in the legs and buttocks during exercise, such as walking.

For this study, researchers examined 350 people in their 60s with intermittent claudication. The volunteers took either a placebo, 10 mg of Lipitor, or 80 mg or Lipitor for one year. Neither the patients nor the researchers knew which participants were taking the Lipitor or the placebo. The study, which appears in the most recent issue of Circulation, was funded by Pfizer Inc., maker of Lipitor.

Results were promising. Though maximum walking time was pretty much the same among the three testing groups, the amount of time volunteers could walk without pain improved 63% for patients taking 80 mg of Lipitor -- compared with a 38% improvement among the placebo group. Those taking 10 mg of Lipitor had no significant improvement compared with placebo.

But there were a few people who got worse: 1% of people taking Lipitor had worsened intermittent claudication, foot pain, or underwent a procedure to open clogged arteries. In comparison, 8% of placebo patients got worse.

Researchers say there could be several reasons why Lipitor works. The drug may reduce the size of the fatty plaque deposits in the artery, improve blood flow, or promote the formation of new blood vessels.