MECHANISMS OF RENOPROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF STATINS IN CHRONIC GLOMERULONEPHRITIS

Abstract

THE AIM of the investigation was to study the mechanisms of renoprotective action of statins in 60 patients with chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN). PATIENTS AND METHODS. The main group consisted of 30 patients undergoing complex treatment including simvostatin in dose 10 mg/day in addition to glucocorticosteroids and cytostatics. The control group patients were treated by traditional therapy with glucocorticosteroids and cytostatics. In both groups of patients the effects of the used schemes of treatment on the indices of lipid metabolism, diurnal proteinuria, level of creatinine and cytokines in blood serum were assessed. RESULTS. It was found that the complex treatment including simvoststin resulted not only in a more pronounced decrease of the level of atherogenic fractions of lipoproteins than in the control group but in a more considerable antiproteinuric effect. In the main group, unlike the control one, the level of blood creatinine was not changed either. In addition, normalization of the ILβ level and statistically significant drop of the TNAα level were observed in the main group of patients. In the control group the ILβ level failed to reach normal values, while the TNAα level had a tendency to be decreased. CONCLUSION. The results of the investigation have shown that in addition to hypolipidemic effect statins also have a normalizing influence on the balance of plasma cytokines. The latter explains their antiinflammatory effect which appears to be the most important factor of their renoprotective action.