The NORCOR statin project, now named NORCOR Preventive medications project, was initiated in 2017, is currently led by Elise Sverre (clinical part) and Nils Tore Vethe (pharmacological part). We are developing new methods to measure levels of cholesterol-lowering medications (statins) and their breakdown products (metabolites and other proteins) in blood and muscle. These methods are used to study drug metabolism and effects, medication adherence, and side effects. The overarching goal is to develop personalized treatment and follow-up with cholesterol medications to ensure patients achieve the best possible effect, minimal side effects, and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.The project involves five PhD candidates and two postdoctoral researchers

Included in the project are the following studies:

Method development studies
Intervention studies
Observational studies
NORCOR Cohort Study
Prescription Register Study

RESEARCH RESULTS

  1. Statin adherence in coronary outpatients: The relationship between a novel blood test and pharmacy registry data. Atherosclerosis 2025
  2. Treatment with PCSK9 monoclonal antibodies is associated with discontinuation of oral lipid lowering therapy. European Heart Journal – Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes, 2024
  3. High discontinuation rate of statins among PCSK9i users: a nationwide study from 2015-2023. European Heart Journal, Supplement. 2024
  4. Mevalonate in blood and muscle: Response to atorvastatin treatment and the relationship to statin intolerance in patients with coronary heart disease. Clinical and Translational Science 2024
  5. The effect of atorvastatin on mevalonate levels in blood plasma in patients with coronary heart disease and muscle side effects. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology 2024
  6. Validation of a novel direct method to determine reduced adherence to atorvastatin therapy, European Heart Journal Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy 2024
  7. The atorvastatin metabolite pattern in muscle tissue and blood plasma is associated with statin muscle side effects in patients with coronary heart disease; An exploratory case-control study, Atherosclerosis Plus 2024
  8. Treatment patterns and adherence to lipid-lowering drugs during eight-year follow-up after a coronary heart disease event. Atherosclerosis, 2024
  9. Atorvastatin Metabolite Pattern in Skeletal Muscle and Blood from Patients with Coronary Heart Disease and Statin-Associated Muscle Symptoms. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2023.
  10. Plasma concentration of atorvastatin metabolites correlates with low-densitylipoprotein cholesterol reduction in patients with coronary heart disease. Pharmacology Research & Perspectives 2023
  11. Validation of a novel direct method to determine reduced adherence to atorvastatin therapy. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology 2023
  12. Atorvastatin lactone/acid ratios are promising biomarkers for statin dependent muscular side effects in patients with coronary heart disease. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology 2023
  13. Treatment patterns and adherence to lipid-lowering drugs during 8 years of follow-up after a cardiovascular event. European Heart Journal 2023
  14. Monitoring Simvastatin Adherence in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease: A Proof-of-Concept Study Based on Pharmacokinetic Measurements in Blood Plasma. Ther Drug Monit, 2022
  15. Clinical and pharmacological characteristics in plasma and mononuclear blood cells in patients with coronary heart disease and low statin tolerance. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology (EJPC) 2022 (abstract)
  16.  Tailored clinical management after blinded statin challenge improved long-term lipid control in coronary patients with self-perceived muscle side-effects. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 2021
  17. The relationship between directly measured statin adherence, self-reported adherence measures and cholesterol levels in patients with coronary heart disease, Atherosclerosis, 2021
  18.  Clinical and psychological factors in coronary heart disease patients with statin associated muscle side-effects. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 2021
  19. .Effect of atorvastatin on muscle symptoms in coronary heart disease patients with self-perceived statin muscle side-effects: a randomized, double blinded crossover trial.  European Heart J Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy, 2020.
  20. Adherence to atorvastatin therapy in coronary prevention evaluated by drug plasma concentrations. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2019
  21. Statin-associated muscle symptoms in coronary patients: design of a randomized study. Scand Cardiovasc J. 2019
  22. A Method for Direct Monitoring of Atorvastatin Adherence in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: Quantification of the Total Exposure to Parent Drug and Major Metabolites Using 2-Channel Chromatography and Tandem Mass Spectrometry. The Drug Monit. 2019