Strenuous endurance exercise increases inflammatory markers and acutely increases cardiovascular risk; however, statins may mitigate this response. We measured serum levels of p-selectin in 37 runners treated with statins and in 43 nonstatin treated controls running the 2011 Boston Marathon. Venous blood samples were obtained the day before (PRE) as well as within 1 hour after (FINISH) and 24 hours after (POST) the race. The increase in p-selectin immediately after exercise was lower in statin users (PRE to FINISH: 20.5 ± 19.4？ng/mL) than controls (PRE to FINISH: 30.9 ± 27.1？ng/mL; ). The increase in p-selectin 24 hours after exercise was also lower in statin users (PRE to POST: 21.5 ± 26.6？ng/mL) than controls (PRE to POST: 29.3 ± 31.9？ng/mL; ). Furthermore, LDL-C was positively correlated with p-selectin at FINISH and POST ( and , resp.), irrespective of drug treatment, suggesting that lower levels of LDL-C are associated with a reduced inflammatory response to exercise. We conclude that statins blunt the exercise-induced increase in p-selectin following a marathon and that the inflammatory response to a marathon varies directly with LDL-C levels. 1. Introduction We recently showed that p-selectin, a biomarker greatly associated with coronary disease and inflammation, increased after a marathon [1]. Serious cardiac events have also rarely been associated with marathon running [2], and increases in such biomarkers of thrombotic and vascular risk such as p-selectin may contribute to this increased cardiac risk [3]. HMG CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) are the most effective medicines for lowering LDL cholesterol and substantially reduce cardiovascular disease mortality. However, statins evoke many other pleiotropic effects, including anti-inflammatory actions, which could also contribute to their reducing cardiovascular events [4]. The present study determined whether chronic statin therapy ameliorates the inflammatory response to endurance exercise. We hypothesized that statin treated runners would exhibit lower p-selectin levels immediately and 24 hours after the marathon than nonstatin using runners. 2. Methods Thirty seven statin-using athletes (29 men and 8 women) and 43 controls (30 men and 13 women) were recruited through an email sent to all participants registered for the 115th Boston Athletic Association Marathon held on April 18, 2011. Subjects were recruited if they either had continuously received statin therapy for 6 months or had not used any lipid-lowering medication. Subjects were nonsmokers, age 35, and free of known cardiovascular
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