The sub-study was conducted in subjects defined by the Framingham risk assessment tool as having less than two or two or more risk factors (RFs) and either thinner or thicker carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) (<1.749mm [median] vs. greater than or equal to 1.749mm). Results demonstrated that Crestor significantly slowed the progression of CIMT in all four subgroups (all p<0.02), compared to placebo treated subjects who all exhibited significantly higher progression rates. Meteor (measuring effects on intima media thickness: an evaluation of rosuvastatin) was a 24-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, international study to evaluate the effect of Crestor 40mg in 984 asymptomatic, hypercholesterolemic patients with a low risk for CHD (Framingham ten-year risk <10%) and evidence of sub-clinical atherosclerotic disease as determined by a thickened carotid artery wall. The new analysis showed that Crestor, when compared with placebo, slows progression of carotid atherosclerosis in subjects at relatively low risk for cardiovascular disease (<2RF + thinner CIMT; 0.0007 mm/yr v. 0.0123 mm/yr with placebo and <2RF + thicker CIMT; -0.0012 mm/yr v. 0.0116 mm/yr with placebo). Furthermore, those with more RFs and those with greater baseline thickness in the Crestor-treated group exhibited a greater trend toward regression or a greater negative slope (2+RF + thinner CIMT; -0.0013 mm/yr v. 0.0144 mm/yr with placebo and 2+RF + thicker CIMT; -0.0071 mm/yr v. 0.015 mm/yr with placebo). John Crouse, professor of medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, said: "The Meteor trial continues to provide important information regarding the effects of Crestor on atherosclerotic progression in subjects with various degrees of risk based on conventional risk factors and carotid artery wall thickness."