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Statins and liver disease: from concern to 'wonder' drugs?

The benefits of statins go beyond decreasing cholesterol levels; in liver disease, statins reduce the risk of progressive liver fibrosis and provide protection during infections and ischaemia–reperfusion injury. New evidence shows that statins improve response to interferon-based anti-HCV therapy, decrease progression to cirrhosis and likelihood of developing hepatocellular carcinoma.

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Acknowledgements

The CIBERehd is supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. J.B. is supported by grants from Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (PI13/341). The authors are indebted to C. Esteva for expert secretarial support.

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Correspondence to Jaume Bosch.

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Bosch, J., Forns, X. Statins and liver disease: from concern to 'wonder' drugs?. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 12, 320–321 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2015.78

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