Fenofibrate-induced liver injury

TO THE EDITOR Fenofibrate is a member of such fibrate class agents as bezafibrate and it work as a ligand of PPARα, and also shows a potent triglyceride-lowering effect. The elevation of aminotransferase levels has been frequently observed after the administration of fenofibrate and this phenomenon is considered to be non-pathological because fenofibrate activates the gene expression of the aminotransferases. Recently, fenofibrate has been used not only for hypercholesterolemia but also for primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC)[1,2]. However, the occurrence of liver injury induced by fenofibrate has not yet been reported written in the English literature. We herein report a rare case of liver injury due to the oral use of this drug.

Fenofibrate is a member of such fibrate class agents as bezafibrate and it work as a ligand of PPARα, and also shows a potent triglyceride-lowering effect. The elevation of aminotransferase levels has been frequently observed after the administration of fenofibrate and this phenomenon is considered to be non-pathological because fenofibrate activates the gene expression of the aminotransferases. Recently, fenofibrate has been used not only for hypercholesterolemia but also for primary biliary cirrhosis （PBC）. However, the occurrence of liver injury induced by fenofibrate has not yet been reported written in the English literature. We herein report a rare case of liver injury due to the oral use of this drug.