Determination of guanase activity in patients with prolonged treatment with simvastatin

Abstract

In this study, 28 patients suffering from hyperlipidemia who were on simvastatin ,were included for determination serum guanase activity. Guanase activity was observed at high level in those patients (n = 16) who were on prolonged treatment with simvastatin (more than 30 days) but its activity remained within normal when simvastation was administrated at interrupted intervals . The results were compared with two control groups the first (n=10) with hyperlipidemia but with no simvastatin and the second (n=10) was normal individuals with no history of hyperlipidemia. However, guanase activity was found to be normal in both control groups . Besides, this study was found that alkaline phosphatase was also increased in some patients , However , guanase activity was observed earlier than alkaline phosphatase which have suggested that simvastatine could cause liver injuries when used for a long time. This study is the first study conducted to predict liver injuries as a result of simvastatin through guanase elevation .