Cholesterol synthesis, cholesterol absorption, and mortality in hemodialysis patients.

Background And Objectives: Recent clinical trials on cholesterol-lowering in patients with CKD yielded conflicting results, which might have resulted from different treatment strategies. Serum cholesterol levels are determined by endogenous synthesis and intestinal absorption, which are differentially influenced by various classes of cholesterol-lowering agents. Assessing markers of cholesterol metabolism has thus been proposed for guidance of lipid-lowering therapy.