Abstract: Objective To investigate the short-term efficacy and influence on the level of (matrix metalloproteinase-9) MMP-9 in the peripheral blood by early stage atorvastatin intensive treatment for acute cerebral infarction (ACI). Methods 330 patients with acute cerebral infarction were collected from January 2015 to December 2015 in our hospital, and randomly divided into intensive statin treatment group (165 cases) and conventional dose of statin group (165 cases). Conventional dose of statin group was given atorvastatin calcium tablets 20 mg every day, intensive statin treatment group was given atorvastatin calcium tablets, 40 mg every day, both for 14 days. The Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to detect the level of MMP-9 between two groups, and the Barthel Index, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and Fugl-Meyer assessment scale (FMA) were compared before and 7 d, 14 d after given atorvastatin calcium tablets. Results The Barthel and FMA of intensive statin treatment group were higher than conventional dose of statin group, and the NIHSS of intensive statin treatment group was lower than conventional dose of statin group, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Compared with the conventional dose of statin group, the level of MMP-9 of intensive statin treatment group significantly decreased after 7 d, 14 d given atorvastatin calcium tablets 40 mg/d (P<0.05),which indicated that the atorvastatin therapy could effectively improve neurological function in patients with acute cerebral infarction, improved the motor function and self-care ability. Conclusion Early stage atorvastatin intensive treatment can reduce the level of serum MMP-9 of acute cerebral infarction patients, promote the recovery of neural function, meanwhile, improve the ability of daily life and exercise, short term therapeutic effect is obvious.

Key words: atorvastatin, acute cerebral infarction, short-term efficacy, MMP-9