Abstract:To investigate the effect of statins on atherosclerosis and its mechanism. Methods Totally 104 patients with atherosclerosis were selected and randomly divided into control group, Simvastatin group, Pravastatin group and Atorvastatin group. The levels of triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDC-C) were determined. And the maximum length and thickness of atherosclerotic plaques and the intima-media thickness (IMT) were measured, and the content of NO and NOS in blood were measured by spectrophotometry. The number of patients with adverse reactions were counted. Results The levels of TG, TC and LDL-C in the treatment groups showed a decreasing trend, but HDL-C was in a rising trend after treatment; the differences were statistically significant compared with the control group (p < 0.05), while there were no significant differences among the three treatment groups (p > 0.05). The treatment efficiency was up to 70.08% in the treatment groups, there were significant differences compared to the control group (p < 0.05). In the statin groups, the maximum diameter of the atherosclerotic plaques and IMT after treatment were significantly different from those before treatment (p < 0.05),but there were no significant differences among the three statin groups (p > 0.05). Compared with the control group and before treatment, the levels of NO and NOS in the treatment groups were significantly increased after treatment (p < 0.05). Follow-up results showed that statins were safe and effective in the process of treatment. Conclusions Statins are safe, effective and reliable for the treatment of atherosclerosis, and can effectively regulate the content of NO and NOS, which are worthy to be popularized in clinical practice.