Statins and stroke

The role of cholesterol in the pathogenesis of stroke, the role of the trea tment of hypercholesterolemia in the prevention of stroke have been controv ersed. The explanation was based on the heterogenous characteristics of str oke, on the relationship between several risk factors, and on the role of t he age, in the evaluation of these 2 questions. The discovery of statins induced major therapeutic trials whose aim was the impact on coronary events. These trials demonstrated that statins were acc ompanied with a major reduction of cholesterol levels and stroke events sim ilar to the one observed with coronary events. Even prospective, placebo controlled, randomized specific trials for stroke are necessary, we can state that cholesterol reduction is the most importa nt mechanism accounting for a decrease in stroke occurrence with statins.