The objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of simvastatin on pulmonary function and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in induced sputum of patients with COPD exacerbation. Thirty-eight patients with AECOPD were divided into two groups randomly, ie a routine medical treatment (RT) group(n=30) and a routine + statin medical treatment(RST) group (n=28). The VEGF levels in serum and induced sputum were detected by ELISA on the first day and after a week treatment in hospital, resp. Meanwhile, the pulmonary function measurements were performed. Results show that there were no significant differences in the pulmonary function (FEV1% pred and FEV1/FVC) and VEGF levels in induced sputum between the two groups before treatment(P>0.05). The RT group showed no significant changes in any parameters before and after a week treatment (P>0.05). FEV1 % pred, FEV1/FVC and VEGF levels in induced sputum in the RST group after a week treatment significantly increased compared with those before treatment and the RT group (P<0.01, P<0.01 , P<0.05). But there were no significant differences in serum VEGF levels between the two groups before and after a week treatment. The VEGF levels in induced sputum were pos. correlated to FEV1% pread and FEV1/FVC after a week treatment(r=0.430, P<0.05; r=0.388, P<0.05). It was concluded that simvastatin may reduce the decline in pulmonary function and decrease the levels of VEGF in induced sputum of patients with AECOPD. Improvement in pulmonary function may be related to down-expression of lung VEGF.
