For decades, statins have been among the most important medicines used to protect people from heart disease. These drugs lower cholesterol levels in the blood and help reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Because heart disease remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, statins have become one of the most widely prescribed medications, helping hundreds of millions of people live longer and healthier lives.
Despite their benefits, statins are not perfect. Many people who take them experience muscle-related side effects. Some develop muscle aches, soreness, weakness, or unusual tiredness.
In rare cases, muscle damage can become severe enough to cause serious health problems, including kidney failure. Doctors have known about these side effects for years, but exactly why they happen has remained a mystery.
Now, researchers from the University of British Columbia and the University of Wisconsin–Madison believe they have found an important piece of the puzzle.
Their study, published in the journal Nature Communications, reveals how statins may interfere with a key protein inside muscle cells. The discovery could eventually lead to a new generation of statins that protect the heart without causing muscle pain.
To make this breakthrough, the scientists used an advanced imaging technique called cryo-electron microscopy. This technology allows researchers to capture incredibly detailed images of proteins and other tiny structures inside cells.
By freezing biological samples and examining them at extremely high resolution, scientists can see how molecules interact with one another in ways that were impossible just a few years ago.
The team focused on a protein known as RyR1, which plays a critical role in muscle movement. Muscles rely on calcium to contract and relax properly. RyR1 acts like a gate that controls the release of calcium inside muscle cells. Under normal conditions, the gate opens only when the muscle needs to move and then closes again.
The researchers discovered that statins can attach themselves to this protein and change its behavior. Instead of opening and closing normally, the protein becomes stuck in an open state.
As a result, calcium continuously leaks out. This constant leak can place stress on muscle cells and may help explain why some people experience muscle pain, weakness, or fatigue while taking statins.
Lead researcher Dr. Steven Molinarolo explained that the team was able to see exactly where the statin molecules attach to the protein. This gave them a detailed view of the process that triggers the harmful calcium leak. According to the researchers, this leak can become toxic to muscle tissue over time.
The study examined atorvastatin, one of the most commonly prescribed statins in the world. However, the scientists believe the same basic mechanism may apply to several other statin drugs as well.
One of the most surprising findings was the way the statin molecules interacted with the RyR1 protein. Rather than a single molecule causing the problem, the researchers found that three statin molecules gather together in a specific area of the protein.
The first molecule binds to the protein when the channel is closed and makes it more likely to open. Then two additional molecules move into place and effectively force the channel to stay fully open. This chain of events creates the calcium leak that can damage muscle cells.
Senior researcher Dr. Filip Van Petegem said the findings provide a valuable roadmap for developing safer medications in the future.
Scientists may now be able to redesign statins so they continue lowering cholesterol effectively while avoiding the unwanted interaction with muscle proteins. In other words, researchers hope to preserve the heart-protective benefits of statins while removing the features that contribute to muscle side effects.
This could have a significant impact on public health. Although severe muscle complications are uncommon, mild muscle symptoms affect many patients. These symptoms can be frustrating enough that some people stop taking their medication. When that happens, they may lose important protection against heart attacks and strokes.
A safer version of statins could help more patients stay on treatment for the long term. That would mean better cholesterol control, fewer cardiovascular events, and potentially longer lives for many people.
The study also highlights the growing power of modern imaging technologies. By allowing scientists to observe drug interactions in extraordinary detail, tools such as cryo-electron microscopy are helping researchers understand diseases and treatments at a much deeper level. These insights can guide the development of safer and more effective medicines.
While more research is needed before improved statins become available, this discovery marks an important step forward. It offers a clearer understanding of one of the most common side effects linked to statin therapy and provides hope that future cholesterol-lowering drugs may be both highly effective and much easier for patients to tolerate.
If you care about muscle, please read studies about factors that can cause muscle weakness in older people, and scientists find a way to reverse high blood sugar and muscle loss.
For more health information, please see recent studies about an easy, cheap way to maintain muscles, and results showing these vegetables essential for your muscle strength.
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