Antiplatelet effect of statins is augmented in diabetic rabbits.

The effects of various statins on platelet aggregation in blood samples from normal and diabetic rabbits were measured. All of the statins used in our study inhibited platelet aggregation by about 20% at 1 microM. Our results show that diabetes increased the rate of platelet aggregation from 48 +/- 5% to 72 +/- 8%, however, statins inhibited the rate of platelet aggregation by about 60% (p < 0.01). The addition of leptin (125 ng/ml) to blood samples from healthy rabbits increased the aggregation rate to about 64%, but statins decreased this rate to about 26%. Our results indicate that diabetes increases the rate of platelet aggregation in rabbits and increases antiplatelet efficacy of statins due to interactions with leptin.