Beyond the Lipid-lowering Effects of Statins: Renal Effects
Yasemin Kaya, Ahmet Kaya, Osman Bekataş
Keywords: Statin, chronic renal disease, acute renal disease, contrast-induced nephropathy
Abstract
Nowadays statins, 3 hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase enzyme inhibitors, are used in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Statins have been shown to decrease cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in both coronary artery disease and peripheral arterial disease. Besides their lipid-lowering effects, statins have pleiotropic effects such as improvement of endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerotic plaques stabilization, oxidative stress inhibition, anti-inflammatory, and antithrombogenic effects. Some clinical trials have revealed that statin therapy improved renal function. On the other hand, statins have been shown to have no beneficial effects in many studies in renal function. In this review, we aimed to evaluate the effects of statins on renal function.