Alterations of lipid metabolism in chronic nephropathies: mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment.

Nephropathic subjects show an increased tendency to develop cardiovascular diseases, mainly as the consequence of several risk factors including increased oxidative stress, inflammation, physical inactivity, anemia, vascular calcification, and endothelial dysfunction. The alterations in lipid metabolism represent a relatively lesser important cause of genesis and progression of atherosclerosis. Unfortunately, in these patients the atherogenic potential of dyslipidemia may depend more on apolipoproteins than on lipid abnormalities, and may not always be recognized by measurement of plasma lipids alone. The aim of this review was therefore to analyze the main lipid alterations that can occur in nephropathic patients, as well as their causes and their effects on the cardiovascular system. The clinical evidence and recommendations for the use of lipid-regulating drugs in patients with chronic kidney disease, nephrotic syndrome, in patients undergoing hemo- and peritoneal dialysis and in transplanted patients was also reviewed. Moreover, we analyzed the link between dyslipidemia and kidney disease onset and progression and the role of statins in preventing it.