The potential role of statins in treating liver disease

Introduction: Statins are commonly use for the management of dyslipidemia, worldwide. Various studies have demonstrated that statins offer significant reduction in the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, this class of drugs has been implicated in potential liver toxicity, thus has been considered as a ‘forbidden-drug’ in patients with increased liver enzymes.

Areas covered: Studies have shown that statins might offer clinical benefits in the setting of viral hepatitis, progression of cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. More importantly, this class of drugs was shown to ameliorate liver histological (in both imaging and biopsy studies) and functional alterations in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. In addition, two large survival studies have demonstrated reduction in the risk for cardiovascular events with statin use in patients with elevated transaminase levels at baseline.

Expert commentary: These benefits were of greater extent compared with patients with normal liver function tests at baseline. However, current international guidelines seem to neglect these findings and are not including statins in the management algorithm of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or steatohepatitis. Future randomized studies providing biopsy-proven benefits will establish the use of statins in the prevention of cardiovascular events and therapeutic algorithm of these patients.