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Editorial
Statins in liver disease: not only prevention of cardiovascular events
Antonio Magan-Fernandez ORCID Icon, Manfredi Rizzo ORCID Icon, Giuseppe Montalto ORCID Icon & Giulio Marchesini
Pages 743-744 | Received 02 Apr 2018, Accepted 14 May 2018, Accepted author version posted online: 17 May 2018, Published online: 24 May 2018
Download citation https://doi.org/10.1080/17474124.2018.1477588
KEYWORDS: Fatty liver, cardiovascular risk, hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, fatty liver, drug safety
Statins are lipid-lowering agents and one of the most prescribed drugs worldwide. Their main mechanism of action – inhibition of the mevalonate pathway through an effect on hydroxy-methylglutaryl CoA reductase, thus affecting the synthesis of cholesterol in the liver – makes this class of drugs pivotal in primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular risk, as extensively demonstrated in large prospective, randomized controlled trials. Along the years, we learned that the lower the better, and LDL-cholesterol targets have been progressively reduced to values ≤70 mg/dL for secondary prevention or in the presence of diabetes.
The use of statins in patients with liver disease has long been limited by concern for their potential hepatotoxicity, raised by anecdotal evidence of raised liver enzymes following their use, or possible trapping of lipids in the liver. Statins metabolism occurs in the liver and statin intake has been associated with higher transaminase levels [1 Tziomalos K, Athyros VG, Paschos P, et al. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and statins. Metabolism. 2015;64(10):1215–1223.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. In 2006, an extensive analysis of the Dallas Heart Study suggested that no harm was to be expected for the use of statins in subjects with liver disease, also including patients with hepatic steatosis [2 Browning JD. Statins and hepatic steatosis: perspectives from the Dallas Heart Study. Hepatology. 2006;44(2):466–471.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]], and in a large practice-based analysis, patients with elevated liver enzymes were not at higher risk of statin hepatotoxicity [3 Chalasani N, Aljadhey H, Kesterson J, et al. Patients with elevated liver enzymes are not at higher risk for statin hepatotoxicity. Gastroenterology. 2004;126(5):1287–1292.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. In a comprehensive review, Bjornsson et al. reported that statin-related adverse events are very rare, although potentially severe. Both atorvastatin and simvastatin were associated with fatal outcomes, whereas no fatality was reported with rosuvastatin, suggesting a safer profile of novel statins [4 Bjornsson ES. Hepatotoxicity of statins and other lipid-lowering agents. Liver Int. 2017;37(2):173–178.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. This analysis was further supported by a Cochrane Systematic Review in 2013, confirming that statins should be used, independently of any underlying liver disease, since the control of cardiovascular risk remains pivotal to reduce comorbidity [5 Eslami L, Merat S, Malekzadeh R, et al. Statins for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013;27(12):CD008623.[PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. This is mainly the case of subjects with both alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD and NAFLD), frequently associated with the metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk.
Several prospective studies and meta-analyses followed to support a more extensive use of statins, particularly in the NAFLD area. In the present issue of Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Imprialos et al. review the available evidence about statins and NAFLD, discussing the positive effects, possibly outweighing the reduction in cardiovascular risk and moving statins as a possible therapeutic option for liver disease itself [6 Imprialos KP, Stavropoulos K, Doumas M, et al. The potential role of statins in treating liver disease. Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018;12(4):331–339.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. A few comments about this relevant issue might be of interest.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver, i.e. the accumulation of lipids in hepatocytes above the physiologic threshold of 5% in the absence of significant alcohol intake (limits: 20 g/day in females, 30 g/day in males), occurs in nearly 25% of adults worldwide, but in nearly 75% of subjects with obesity and over 50% of cases with type 2 diabetes [7 Younossi Z, Anstee QM, Marietti M, et al. Global burden of NAFLD and NASH: trends, predictions, risk factors and prevention. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018;15(1):11–20.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. In approximately 10% of cases with fatty liver the disease progresses to hepatic necroi\nflammation and fibrosis (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis – NASH), cirrhosis (NASH – cirrhosis), and eventually to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The overall prevalence of disease is expected to increase further, due to the obesity epidemics, and NAFLD is now the second leading cause of liver transplantation in the United States [8 Wong RJ, Aguilar M, Cheung R, et al. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is the second leading etiology of liver disease among adults awaiting liver transplantation in the United States. Gastroenterology. 2015;148(3):547–555.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. However, in long-term follow-up studies, fatal cardiovascular events are the most common causes of NASH-related mortality [9 Ekstedt M, Franzen LE, Mathiesen UL, et al. Long-term follow-up of patients with NAFLD and elevated liver enzymes. Hepatology. 2006;44(4):865–873.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]], driven by type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), metabolic syndrome, with increased levels of small dense atherogenic lipoprotein subfractions [10 Sonmez A, Nikolic D, Dogru T, et al. Low- and high-density lipoprotein subclasses in subjects with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. J Clin Lipidol. 2015;9(4):576–582.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]] and diffuse atherosclerotic lesions [11 Purnak T, Efe C, Beyazit Y, et al. Recent insights into the relationship between inflammatory liver diseases and atherosclerosis. J Investig Med. 2011;59(6):904–911.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]], and requiring intensive treatment. This is the rationale for statin use in this population, but what about their effects on the liver?
The initial evidence for a beneficial effect of statins on liver function came from epidemiological studies, where statin use was associated with reduced risk of ultrasonography- and/or histologically-assessed NAFLD/NASH [12 Dongiovanni P, Petta S, Mannisto V, et al. Statin use and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in at risk individuals. J Hepatol. 2015;63(3):705–712.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar],13 Bril F, Portillo Sanchez P, Lomonaco R, et al. Liver safety of statins in prediabetes or T2DM and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: post hoc analysis of a randomized trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2017;102(8):2950–2961.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]], also in the presence of diabetes, where the use of statins reduced the risk of both NASH and severe fibrosis [14 Nascimbeni F, Aron-Wisnewsky J, Pais R, et al. Statins, antidiabetic medications and liver histology in patients with diabetes with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2016;3(1):e000075.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. Atorvastatin reduced the expression of perilipin 5 in hepatocytes, contributing to increased lipolysis and reduced triglyceride accumulation through protein kinase A phosphorylation [15 Gao X, Nan Y, Zhao Y, et al. Atorvastatin reduces lipid accumulation in the liver by activating protein kinase A-mediated phosphorylation of perilipin 5. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2017;1862(12):1512–1519.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. A systematic review and meta-analysis confirmed that statins were associated with lower risk of advanced liver disease and mortality, and might also reduce portal hypertension, stopping disease progression and even promoting fibrosis regression [16 Kim RG, Loomba R, Prokop LJ, et al. Statin use and risk of cirrhosis and related complications in patients with chronic liver diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017;15(10):1521–1530 e1528.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. Simvastatin acted as Krüppel-like factor 2 inducer, improving cell viability, ameliorating liver injury in ischemia/reperfusion and improving fibrosis, endothelial dysfunction and portal hypertension in both animal and human models of liver sinusoidal endothelial and stellate cells [17 Guixe-Muntet S, De Mesquita FC, Vila S, et al. Cross-talk between autophagy and KLF2 determines endothelial cell phenotype and microvascular function in acute liver injury. J Hepatol. 2017;66(1):86–94.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar],18 Marrone G, Maeso-Diaz R, Garcia-Cardena G, et al. KLF2 exerts antifibrotic and vasoprotective effects in cirrhotic rat livers: behind the molecular mechanisms of statins. Gut. 2015;64(9):1434–1443.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. Acute pretreatment with simvastatin of the donor protected liver tissue and cells during cold storage for posterior transplantation [19 Gracia-Sancho J, Garcia-Caldero H, Hide D, et al. Simvastatin maintains function and viability of steatotic rat livers procured for transplantation. J Hepatol. 2013;58(6):1140–1146.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. The pleiotropic effects of statins also extend to anti-fibrotic action, as well as to better response to treatment for chronic hepatitis C and reduced risk and better survival rate of hepatocellular carcinoma [20 Janicko M, Drazilova S, Pella D, et al. Pleiotropic effects of statins in the diseases of the liver. World J Gastroenterol. 2016;22(27):6201–6213.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. Unfortunately, only few and limited studies were specifically designed to test the use of statins in the treatment of NAFLD and were inconclusive. Larger studies would be difficult to arrange, particularly in diabetes-associated NAFLD, considering that the use of statins carries an increased risk of new onset diabetes [21 Katsiki N, Athyros VG, Karagiannis A, et al. Statins and type 2 diabetes mellitus: an update after 1 year. Curr Pharm Des. 2016;22(18):2723–2725.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. Several novel drugs are on the horizon for treatment in NAFLD/NASH, and are being tested in phases 2–3 trials in subjects with/without diabetes in order to reduce hepatic necroinflammation, without worsening of fibrosis [22 Brodosi L, Marchignoli F, Petroni ML, et al. NASH: a glance at the landscape of pharmacological treatment. Ann Hepatol. 2016;15(5):673–681.[PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]]. No matter they may be confidently associated with statins to achieve better hepatic and cardiovascular outcomes. NAFLD Clinical Practice Guidelines, jointly published by the European Associations of Liver Disease, Diabetes and Obesity (EASL-EASD-EASO) strongly recommend strict control of cardiovascular risk in patients with NAFLD/NASH [23 European Association for the Study of the Liver, European Association for the Study of Diabetes, European Association for the Study of Obesity. EASL-EASD-EASO Clinical Practice Guidelines for the management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Diabetologia. 2016;59(6):1121–1140.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]], and statins remain a safe, effective and pivotal therapeutic option to this goal.
Declaration of interest
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose. |
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