Crestor shows gains in reducing stroke risk

LONDON - AstraZeneca's cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor cut the risk of stroke by nearly half in seemingly healthy patients, according to a new study.

The medical trial involving 17,802 patients found even those with low levels of cholesterol benefited from daily treatment with Crestor. The results were presented at the American Stroke Association meeting in San Diego yesterday.

The study resembles earlier findings from the company-funded study, which showed Crestor slashed the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death by 47 percent. All of the patients had high levels of protein called hsCRP, an indicator of inflammation.

The data "clearly demonstrate that statin therapy reduces stroke risk among individuals with elevated levels of hsCRP," Robert Glynn, of the division of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said in a statement.

Crestor is from the medicine class known as statins. AstraZeneca plans to file for expanded approval of the drug in the first half of this year.

Over five years, 33 patients who took Crestor in the study suffered a stroke, compared with 64 of those getting a placebo. The drug prevented strokes caused by clots that block blood flow the brain, the researchers said.