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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Differential Effects of Lipid-lowering Drugs in Modulating Morphology of Cholesterol Particles
Published on: November 10, 2017
Rosuvastatin increases alpha-1 microglobulin urinary excretion in patients with primary dyslipidemia
Michael S Kostapanos1, Haralampos J Milionis, Irene Gazi
1Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Ioannina, 451 10 Ioannina, Greece.
Abstract:
The renoprotective effect of statins has been recently disputed because of observations of proteinuria associated with rosuvastatin treatment, the newest drug of the class. Statin-induced proteinuria findings were mainly based on crudely quantitative dipstick assays. The authors quantitatively evaluated the effect of rosuvastatin at the recommended starting dose of 10 mg/d, on urine protein excretion in patients with primary dyslipidemia. Serum lipid and nonlipid parameters as well as urinary electrolyte, creatinine, and protein (total, albumin, immunoglobulin G, and alpha-1 microglobulin) levels were measured in 40 patients treated with rosuvastatin and 30 controls at baseline and after 12 weeks. The protein-to-creatinine ratios were used to assess urinary protein excretion. Rosuvastatin improved the lipid profile, produced no deterioration of kidney function, but induced a small but significant increase in the excretion of alpha-1 microglobulin (by 16%, P < .05) indicating that statin-related proteinuria involves low-molecular-weight proteins and is of proximal tubular origin.
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