Simvastatin: a new therapeutic strategy for Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive disease whose prevalence increases annually. Studies in recent years report that statins (hydroxy-3-nethylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors) affect preventing the progression of kidney damage, in addition to their ability to prevent cardiovascular risk in patients with CKD. This study aims to determine the effect of statins on kidney function and renal fibrosis in chronic kidney disease. Methods: This research is pure experimental (randomized post-test only control group design). The research sample consisted of 20 white mice (Mus musculus L.), Swiss line, aged 3-4 months, and weight 30-40 grams. Samples were randomly grouped into four treatment groups: control (K, n = 5), treatment with simvastatin at a dose of 5.2 mg/kgBW (P1), treatment with simvastatin at a dose of 10.4 mg/kgBW (P2), and treatment with simvastatin at a dose of 20.8 mg/kgBW (P3). Interstitial fibrosis was assessed using Picrosirus Red staining. Data analysis used One-Way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc tests with a significance value of p<0.05 in SPSS version 25.0 for Windows. Results: The results showed that the control group (K) was the group with the highest serum creatinine level (1.07 & PLUSMN; 0.43) compared to the other treatment groups (p <0.05). Administration of simvastatin at doses of 5.2 mg/kgBW, 10.4 mg/kgBW, and 20.8 mg/kg BW in CKD mice resulted in lower interstitial fibrosis than controls. There was a significant difference between renal tissue fibrosis in the simvastatin group at a dose of 5.2 mg/kgBW (P1) with a dose of 10.4 mg/kgBW (P2) and a dose of 20.8 mg/kgBW (P3). Conclusion: Simvastatin can improve kidney function and reduce the degree of renal fibrosis in animal models of CKD. Thus, it can be a therapeutic strategy for CKD.