Calibre MacroWorld, Dec. 6, 2007 According to recent research published in the journal Cardiovascular Drugs and Therapy, "Atorvastatin protects against ischemia-reperfusion by upregulating Akt and subsequently, endothelial nitric oxide synthase phosphorylation at Ser-1177. However, when given orally, high doses of ATV (10 mg/kg/d) are needed to achieve maximal protective effect in the rat." Saraswathy Manickavasagam and colleagues at UTMB conducted the research.