Simvastatin in primary biliary cirrhosis: effects on serum lipids and distinct disease markers

Background/Aims : Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an autoimmune disease of the liver with inflammation of small and middle-sized bile ducts. Serum lipids are frequently elevated, but the use of a lipid lowering drug therapy in PBC is still a matter of debate. Application of an inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase in hypercholesterolemic PBC patients was therefore the subject of the present study. Methods : Six female patients (aged 46.5 (32–61) years; median (range)) were treated with the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor simvastatin (5 or 20 mg/day). Levels of serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were determined prior to and after 2 months of treatment. Concentrations of serum markers of cholestasis, antimitochondrial antibodies (AMA), and immunoglobulins A, G and M were also assessed. Results : Simvastatin significantly ( P