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Pharmacotherapy

Statins are safe in NAFLD

Nature Reviews Cardiology volume 8, page 65 (2011)Cite this article

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Statins are a potentially useful therapy in patients with the metabolic syndrome, since these individuals often have dyslipidemia and are at high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, nonalcoholic fatty acid liver disease (NAFLD) is a common component of the metabolic syndrome and, to date, many clinicians have been hesitant to prescribe statins in the presence of liver-enzyme abnormalities, owing to the reported adverse effects of these drugs on the liver. Post-hoc analysis of the prospective, intention-to-treat Greek Atorvastatin and Coronary Heart Disease Evaluation (GREACE) study has now demonstrated that use of statins in patients with NAFLD is safe and effective.

Unlike many clinicians, Dr Vasilios Athyros and colleagues have been prescribing statins to patients with mild-to-moderately abnormal liver tests, because their personal clinical experience and data from other clinicians' small studies lead them to conclude that statins are safe and contribute to reduction of disease burden in these patients. In an attempt to validate or refute their conclusions, and since a formal investigation of the effect of statins on hard clinical end points in patients with mild-to-moderately abnormal liver function had not previously been undertaken, Athyros et al. set out to evaluate data from the GREACE study.

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Original article

  1. Athyros, V. G. et al. Safety and efficacy of long-term statin treatment for cardiovascular events in patients with coronary heart disease and abnormal liver tests in the Greek Atorvastatin and Coronary Heart Disease Evaluation (GREACE) Study: a post-hoc analysis. Lancet 376, 1916–1922 (2010)

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  1. Bryony M. Mearns
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Mearns, B. Statins are safe in NAFLD. Nat Rev Cardiol 8, 65 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2010.219

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2010.219

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