In this task, you are given a passage which has a question and the context. You have to generate an answer to the question based on the information present in the context.
Q: Context: Statins have been proposed as a potential treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) due to their immunomodulatory properties, their role restoring endothelial function and preventing atherosclerosis. We evaluate the effect of a short period treatment with a low dose of atorvastatin and its withdrawal on early stage subclinical atherosclerosis.', 'Thirty-seven SLE females received 20mg/day atorvastatin during eight weeks. At baseline, at the end of treatment and six months after atorvastatin withdrawal, disease activity, subclinical atherosclerosis -assessed by measuring carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) - and quantification of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) - as a surrogate biological marker of subclinical atherosclerosis - were carried out.', 'The group of SLE patients with baseline pathological arterial stiffness showed a significant decrease of PWV after atorvastatin therapy (8.431.45m/s vs 7.421.06m/s; p=0.002) that is maintained six months after treatment finished. Only patients of the middle-aged group showed a nearly significant decrease in the PWV measured along the study (7.161.23m/s vs 6.760.82m/s; p=0.05). Atorvastatin induced a significant decrease in the circulating EPC percentage (0.650.67 vs 0.400.31; p=0.023) as well as a downward trend of disease activity that it is observed by a decrease in SLE disease activity index simultaneously with an increase in C3 complement and significant decrease in serum concentration of vascular endothelial grow factor (VEGF) and sVCAM-1.\Question: Does short-term atorvastatin therapy improve arterial stiffness of middle-aged systemic lupus erythematosus patients with pathological pulse wave velocity?
A:
Short-term atorvastatin therapy reduces arterial stiffness of SLE patients with baseline pathological PWV, who are mainly in the group of middle-aged patients. Further studies are needed to determine whether these patients would benefit from statin therapy in preventing cardiovascular events.