ScienceDaily (Aug. 29, 2007) — Scientists report that when people with a transplanted kidney take fluvastatin, a drug against cardiovascular disease, their response to the drug is not influenced by their genetic composition.

People who receive a transplanted kidney are at risk of developing potentially fatal premature cardiovascular disease. One way to prevent this from happening is by taking fluvastatin, a drug that significantly reduces myocardial infarction and cardiac death. But patients' genetic makeup has been reported to prevent similar cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as pravastatin, from working properly.

To examine potential effects of a genetic makeup on the efficacy of fluvastatin after patients receive a kidney transplant, Hallvard Holdaas and colleagues examined 42 genetic variations previously reported to affect fluvastatin metabolism, cholesterol regulation, cardiovascular disease, and the functioning of a transplanted kidney.

The scientists compared the effects of these genetic variations in 707 renal transplant patients who received fluvastatin and 697 patients who received a placebo and showed that the variations do not increase risks of developing a cardiovascular disease or a kidney disease. Consequently, statin therapy continues to be recommended to patients who received a transplanted kidney, regardless of their genetic makeup, the researchers concluded.

Reference article: "Genetic analysis of fluvastatin response and dyslipidemia in renal transplant recipients," by Jonathan B. Singer, Hallvard Holdaas, Alan G. Jardine, Bengt Fellstrom, Ingrid Os, Georgina Bermann, and Joanne M. Meyer, on behalf of the Assessment of Lescol in Renal Transplantation Study Investigators

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