Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is characterized by albuminuria, hypertension, and a progressive decline in glomerular filtration rate. The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A is a well-known agent that is active in lowering total plasma and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in cases with hypercholesterolemia. Hence, in this study, proteinuria changes at the beginning and after the withdrawal of lovastatin in patients with type 2 DN (T2DN) were studied.
Materials and methods: Lovastatin was administered for thirty male patients with T2DN and then was withdrawn. Twenty-four hours, urine creatinine and protein levels were determined.
Results: The mean levels of total cholesterol and LDL-C were reduced without any change in the triglyceride (TG) level while the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level was increased. There was a reverse linear correlation between the changes in the level of HDL-C and the changes in the level of 24 h urine protein after 90 days of lovastatin therapy (P = 0.007, r = -0.484).
Conclusions: Short-term 3-month lovastatin therapy has no effect on proteinuria levels in patients with T2DN despite the antihyperlipidemic effects and reverse correlation of proteinuria with HDL-C.
Keywords: Diabetes type 2; nephropathy; proteinuria; statin.