Abstract
Preventing atherosclerosis is important for prolonging the lives of hemodialysis patients. We examined the efficacy of 3-month treatment with low-dose pravastatin (MevalotinTM, 5mg/day), an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, on serum total cholesterol levels and other lipid-parameters in 20 hemodialysis patients displaying moderate hypercholesterolemia. Three patients received 10mg/day of the drug in the 3rd month and one of them stopped taking it as the serum transaminases increased. Total cholesterol levels decreased significantly by 22% to 24% after 1 month of treatment together with a decrease in apolipoprotein B levels. Lowdensity lipoprotein and very low density lipoprotein tended to decrease. A significant and sustained decrease in serum triglyceride was also observed after 1 month of treatment. These results are in general agreement with those from investigations in nonuremic individuals. Pravastatin and its metabolites did not appear to accumulate in the patients' blood. Therefore, use of low-dose pravastatin is clinically effective for hemodialysis patients displaying moderate hypercholesterolemia.
