The use of pravastatin has been shown to inhibit the development of colitis in a rat model (15). Dextran sulfate (DSS) is a chemical that causes intestinal injury when given enterally to animals, and DSS-induced colitis has been found to share many characteristics with inflammatory bowel disease. Rats given DSS typically become cachectic, develop hematochezia, and develop abnormalities of intestinal epithelial permeability. Rats do not develop intestinal injury when DSS is given concomitantly with pravastatin. Pravastatin appears to prevent intestinal injury at least in part by increased eNOS expression, which is typically degraded by DSS administration (15). This animal model suggests that statins could potentially play a role in reducing the inflammation associated with active inflammatory bowel disease, and could potentially be a safe and well tolerated adjunctive therapy for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.