Beneficial effect of atorvastatin on renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes

Two studies investigated the effect of atorvastatin on glycaemic control and renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes. In study 1, 27 outpatients with hypercholesterolaemia (16 statin-naïve, 11 switched from another statin) took atorvastatin (10 mg once daily) for 3 months. After 3 months, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) had decreased significantly in both groups, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and estimated glomerular filtration rate had increased only in the statin-naïve group, and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA(1c)) had not changed significantly in either group. Study 2 was a retrospective investigation of 87 outpatients with hyper cholesterolaemia who had been taking atorvastatin for at least 4 years. Compared with baseline (patients who had taken atorvastatin for at least 1 year), total cholesterol and triglyceride levels did not change over the study period, HDL-C increased significantly at 2 and 3 years, HbA(1c) was significantly decreased at 1, 2 and 3 years and serum creatinine was significantly decreased at 1 year. Atorvastatin lowered LDL-C concentration, did not worsen glycaemic control and might improve renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes.