Effects of simvastatin on markers of inflammation,oxidative stress and endothelial cell apoptosis in patients on chronic hemodialysis

Aim: we investigated the effects of simvastatin on markers of inflammation,oxidative stress and en-dothelial cell apoptosis in hyperlipidemic end-stage renal disease patients on chronic hemodialysis (hd). methods: in 25 hyperlipidemic hd patients who received 10 mg of simvastatin for 6 months and another 25 controls,the extended lipid profile and serum hsil-6,mcp-1,sicam-1,svcam-1,and se-selectin,plasma oxldl,and serum sfas and sfasl levels were determined at baseline,3 months and 6 months. in 18 patients of the simvastatin group,the expression of cd14,cd16,cd62l and cd64 on monocyfes was determined with flow cytometry result: simvastatin treatment resulted in significant reductions in serum lipid levels at 3 months and beyond,compared to at baseline. moreover,at 6 months,simvastatin caused a significant reduction in crp (p< 0.001),which correlated to the decrease in total and ldl cholesterol levels,as well as a significant reduction in il-6 (p= 0.001),sicam-1 (p< 0.001),svcam-1 (p< 0.001),oxldl (p = 0.001),sfas (p = 0.02) and cd14 expression (p<0.001),compared to baseline values. no significant changes in the controls were noticed during the study. conclusion: in conclusion,in hyperlipidemic hd patients,simvastatin treatment resulted in a significant reduction in markers of endothelial dysfunction,inflammation,oxidative stress,endothelial cell apoptosis and peripheral blood monocyte stimulation. the reduction in crp appears to be related to the lipid-lowering effects of simvastatin.