The effect of rosuvastatin on clinical findings of patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome; An interventional pilot study

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is the most common neuropathy of the median nerve. There is enough empirical evidence to show that statins may have neuroprotective effect other than cholesterol reduction. In this research we investigated the effect of rosuvastatin on the clinical symptoms in patients with mild to moderate CTS.

In this interventional study, 50 patients with mild to moderate CTS participated in both treatment and control groups. Rosuvastatin 20 mg and placebo were administered daily to the treatment and control group respectively. The Nerve conduction study was performed on the third finger of all patients by two neurologists. The Visual Analogue is an acceptable scale to measure the amount of pain that a patient feels. Based on the electrodiagnosis method the neuropathy of the median nerve evaluated by measurements of the sensory and motor nerve conduction delay. The severity of symptoms and performance status of patients were also assessed by the Boston questionnaire.

The pain index in the treatment group after intervention was 3.91 ± 2.69 that showed a significant decrease (p = 0.025) compare to before intervention (5.8 ± 3.2), but there was no significant difference in terms of symptom severity and functional status before and after the intervention.

Rosuvastatin can be effective especially in reducing the pain associated with CTS. We believe this positive effect can have a marked effect on the patients' quality of life and reduce the pain-associated problems.