Study Finds Statin Therapy Lowers LDL Cholesterol But Does Not Prevent Kidney Failure

CKD patients taking simvastatin plus ezetimibe for 5 years lowered their LDL cholesterol by an average of approximately 1 mmol/L (39 mg/dL) compared with patients taking placebo. However, the therapy did not significantly reduce the need for dialysis or transplantation (33.9% cases vs. 34.6% cases in the placebo group). Treatment had no effect on the speed at which kidney function declined. Reported in JASN, the Study of Heart and Renal Protection (SHARP) included 6245 nondialysis CKD patients randomized to receive placebo or simvastatin (a statin) plus ezetimibe (a drug that inhibits the intestinal absorption of cholesterol).