Therapy of post-renal transplantation hyperlipidaemia: comparative study with simvastatin and fish oil

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 1997

Authors

Castro, R (Author) Other; Queiros, J (Author) Other; Fonseca, I (Author) Other; Pimentel, JPS (Author) Other; Henriques, AC (Author) Other; Sarmento A (Author) FMUP; Guimaraes, S (Author) Other; Pereira, MC (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation

Vol. 12 No. 12

Pages: 2140-2143

ISSN: 0931-0509

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 32 Citations

Scopus - 38 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-001-AMG

DOI: 10.1093/ndt/12.10.2140

Abstract (EN): Background. Recipients of renal transplantation (RT) exhibit disturbances of serum lipids and apoproteins that may contribute to their cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In our renal transplant department the hypercholesterolaemia prevalence at the first and fifth year of RT is 70.0% and 81.2%, respectively. Lipid-lowering therapy has been utilized in many Transplant Units. The aim of our study was to evaluate post-RT hyperlipidaemia control with simvastatin or fish oil. Methods. Forty-three RT patients (36 men and 17 women) with persistent hypercholesterolaemia and stable graft function which were resistant to a lipid-lowering diet (American Heart Association Step Two) were randomized into two groups and treated for 3 months with simvastatin (S) (10 mg/day; n = 25) and fish oil (F) (6 g/day; n = 18). Total cholesterol (TC), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), lipoprotein a (Lp(a)), apolipoprotein Al (Apo Al), and apolipoprotein B (Apo B) were monitored and at the study baseline they were similar between the two groups. Results. No side effects were detected after 3 months of therapy. In group S, the concentrations of TC (271 +/- 46 mg% vs 228 +/- 49 mg%; P < 0.001), TG (180 +/- 78 vs 134 +/- 45; P < 0.01), LDL-C (177 +/- 40 vs 144 +/- 43; P < 0.01) and Apo B (96 +/- 18 vs 82 +/- 16 P < 0.001) were significantly reduced, and Apo Al concentration had increased (135 +/- 24 vs 149 +/- 30; P < 0.01). In group F, the concentrations of TC (266 +/- 25 vs 240 +/- 31; P < 0.001), TG (203 +/- 105 vs 156 +/- 72; P = 0.02) and HDL-C (63 +/- 15 vs 53 +/- 12; P < 0.01) were significantly reduced. Conclusions. We concluded that low-dose simvastatin and fish oil are both effective and safe in correcting post-RT hyperlipidaemia. Further prospective studies with larger follow-up are needed to clarify whether this therapy has an impact on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in RT patients.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 4