Statin use tied to reduced stroke severity

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Prior use of statins or fibrates that correct abnormal lipid levels, regular physical activity, and previous transient ischemic attack (TIA), commonly known as a mini stroke, appear to be associated with a decreased severity of stroke, according to French researchers.

Dr. R. Bordet and colleagues at the University of Lille determined factors influencing manifestations of ischemic stroke -- the type caused by blood clots -- by retrospectively examining data for 362 consecutive men and women ages 16 to 97 years who had experienced an ischemic stroke.

After adjustment, factors independently associated with lower stroke severity at hospital admission were previous leisure-time physical activity, treatment with lipid-lowering drugs, and a previous TIA.

Physical activity and lipid-lowering therapy were also independently associated with a good short-term outcome, according to the report published in the October issue of Neurology.

Bordet told Reuters Health: "The demonstration of a neuroprotective effect of lipid-lowering drugs, as well as physical activity, should prompt interventional studies assessing the benefit of these pharmacological and life-style approaches in the general population and in high-risk patients."

SOURCE: Neurology October 2006.