Simvastatin reduces fibrosis and protects against muscle weakness after massive rotator cuff tear.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Chronic rotator cuff tears are a common source of shoulder pain and disability, and patients with chronic cuff tears often have substantial weakness, fibrosis, inflammation, and fat accumulation. Identifying therapies to prevent the development of these pathologic processes will likely have a positive impact on clinical outcomes. Simvastatin is a drug with demonstrated anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects in many tissues but had not previously been studied in the context of rotator cuff tears. We hypothesized that after the induction of a massive supraspinatus tear, simvastatin would protect muscles from a loss of force production and fibrosis.

Methods

We measured changes in muscle fiber contractility, histology, and biochemical markers of fibrosis and fatty

SUBMITTER: Davis ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4291297 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature