Circulating Tumor Necrosis Factor-α And Interleukin-6 Levels In Congestive Heart Failure And Their Changes After Simvastatin Treatment

Background: There is increasing evidence that circulating levels of TNF- α and IL-6 are elevated in patients with congestive heart failure. The severity of symptoms correlate closely with elevated levels of circulating TNF- a and IL-6 independent of the etiology of congestive heart failure. In addition to adjusting blood lipids,statins might take anti-inflammation and stabilizing plaque effect. But few articles report that simvastatin affects cytokines in congestive heart failure.Objective: To investigate the effects of simvastatin on cardiac function and serum levels of TNF- a and IL-6 in patients with congestive heart failure.Methods: The levels of serum TNF- α and IL-6 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) in 44 CHF patients and 30 healthy subjects as controls. Patients with CHF were randomized to either conventional or conventional plus simvastatin groups. Cytokines were re-measured after 15 days.Results: The serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in patients with CHF were significantly higher than those of controls(P<0.01) and were related to their cardiac function status.The levels of TNF- a and IL-6 decreased during the treatment in both simvastatin group and conventional group, decreased levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were greater in simvastatin-treated group than in conventional group (P<0.05).Conclusion: Cardiac function status is correlated with levels of serum TNF- α and IL-6 in patients with CHF. Simvastatin may improve cardiac function by decreasing TNF-α and IL-6 in patients with CHF.