Pravastatin Decreases Serum Lipids and Vascular Cholesterol Deposition in Watanabe Heritable Hyperlipidemic (WHHL) Rabbits

The effects of long term administration of pravastatin (a competitive inhibitor of hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA reductase) were assessed by measuring serum lipids and aortic and coronary atherosclerosis in Watanabe Heritable Hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits. Six-month-old WHHL rabbits were given either 50mg/kg/day of the drug or vehicle. The rabbits were sacrificed following 6 or 12 months of treatment and serum cholesterol and triglycerides and aortic cholesterol and hydroxyproline were measured. Atherosclerotic plaques in the aorta and coronary arteries were quantified with morphometric methods. Mean serum cholesterol±SEM(n) in the control vs. pravastatin groups after 6 months were: 535±34 (11) vs. 411±22 (12) (p