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Impact of fluvastatin on hyperlipidemia after renal transplantation
T Tokumoto1, K Tanabe, H Ishida
1Department of Urology, Kidney Center, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan. tokumoto@kc.twmu.ac.jp
Insights
Fluvastatin effectively controlled hyperlipidemia in renal transplant recipients, significantly reducing total cholesterol and triglycerides while increasing HDL cholesterol. The treatment was safe and well-tolerated over six months.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Cardiology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Renal transplant recipients face elevated risks of atherosclerotic vascular disease and hyperlipidemia.
- Immunosuppressive therapy can worsen existing cardiovascular risk factors or introduce new ones like hyperlipidemia and hypertension.
- Fluvastatin, an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, is known for its cholesterol-lowering efficacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of Fluvastatin in managing hyperlipidemia in renal transplant recipients.
- To assess the safety and effectiveness of Fluvastatin treatment for over six months in this patient population.
Main Methods:
- Forty-five renal transplant recipients with hyperlipidemia were treated with 20 mg of Fluvastatin daily.
- Key lipid profiles (TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C), serum creatinine, and CPK levels were monitored before and at 1, 3, and 6 months post-treatment.
Main Results:
- Fluvastatin significantly reduced mean total cholesterol by 16% and triglycerides by 22% after 6 months.
- Mean LDL cholesterol decreased by 5%, while HDL cholesterol increased by 10% over the treatment period.
- No significant changes were observed in serum creatinine or CPK levels, and no adverse effects were reported.
Conclusions:
- Fluvastatin demonstrates significant efficacy in controlling hyperlipidemia markers (TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C) in renal transplant recipients.
- The study indicates that Fluvastatin is a safe and effective therapeutic option for managing dyslipidemia in this vulnerable patient group.
Background:
Renal transplant recipients are at increased risk of atherosclerotic vascular disease with hyperlipidemia. Many recipients have preexisting cardiovascular disease at the time of transplantation, and immunosuppressive therapy may aggravate existing risk factors or promote development of new risk factors, notably hyperlipidemia and hypertension. Fluvastatin is one of the statins, an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, which has been shown to be effective in lowering cholesterol levels. We treated hyperlipidemia after renal transplantation with Fluvastatin for more than 6 months. We attempted to clarify the efficacy of fluvastatin on hyperlipidemia in renal transplant recipients.
Materials:
Forty-five renal transplant recipients with hyperlipidemia were enrolled in this study. The mean age was 44.2 years, with 23 men and 22 women. Thirty-seven transplantations were from a living related donors and eight from cadaveric donors. Thirty-three recipients were ABO-compatible, seven recipients had minor mismatches, and five recipients were ABO-incompatible. The dose of fluvastatin was 20 mg per day. Levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), serum creatinine (s-Cr), ALT, ALP, uric acid (UA), hematocrit (Ht), CPK, and blood pressure were examined in all recipients before treatment as well as 1, 3, and 6 months after Fluvastatin administration.
Results:
The mean levels of TC and TG were significantly reduced from 256, to 224 and 215 mg/dL, and from 188 to 170 and 147 mg/dL at 1 and 6 months after treatment, respectively. The mean levels of HDL-C were 72 mg/dL before treatment, 81 mg/dL at 1 month, and 80 mg/dL at 6 months after treatment. The mean levels of LDL-C were 153 mg/dL before treatment, 145 mg/dL at 1 month, and 145 mg/dL at 6 months after treatment. Fluvastatin significantly produced a reduction rate in TC of 16%, TG of 22%, and LDL-C of 5% after 6 months of treatment, respectively. The mean levels of HDL-C of were increased 10% after 6 months of treatment. The serum creatinine and CPK were not significantly different. There were no clinically significant differences in other factors. No significant adverse effects were observed.
Conclusions:
Fluvastatin seemed to be safe and highly effective to control TC, TG, LDL-C, and HDL-C in renal transplant recipients.
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