Title

Simvastatin in nephrotic syndrome

Purpose

To evaluate whether cholesterol lowering by simvastatin was superior to placebo treatment in limiting the decline of GFR and reducing proteinuria in nephrotic patients with primary glomerulonephritis.

Design

Randomized double-blind study

Patients

56 patients with primary glomerulonephritis, hypercholesterolemia due to nephrotic syndrome (proteinuria > 3g/24h) and a creatinine clearance > 40 ml/min/1.73m2

Follow-up

Two years

Results

Simvastatin reduced total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides by 39%, 47% and 30%, respectively and
increased HDL cholesterol by 1%.

Conclusions

Long-term treatment with simvastatin in nephrotic patients with hypercholesterolemia is effective and safe.