Kidney damage, drugs involved

Table 11. Drugs frequently involved in kidney damage. (Van Arsdel 1978 Parker 1980)...

These drugs (e.g., cephaloridine) may be nephrotoxic causing proximal tubular necrosis. Cephaloridine is actively taken up from blood into proximal tubular cells by OAT 1. The drug therefore accumulates in the kidney. Metabolic activation via cytochrome P-450 may be involved. GSH is oxidized, and as NADPH is also depleted, the GSSG cannot be reduced back to GSH. As vitamin E-depleted animals are more susceptible, it has been suggested that lipid peroxidation may be involved. Damage to mitochondria also occurs. 

In all honesty, the drugs appear to be relatively safe as a class. They have been used for two decades and have been prescribed to many millions of men and women around the world. Studies have demonstrated that they can prevent heart attacks and strokes and save lives by dramatically reducing cholesterol. Obviously, there were terrible problems with cerivastatin (Baycol). And the British medical journal The Lancet has asked for a recall of rosuvastatin (Crestor), citing poor research data and potential side effects involving the liver and the kidneys and muscle damage. Consumer advocates in the United States have also called for FDA to reverse its approval. 

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