For many people with high cholesterol, statins are an essential part of staying healthy.
These medicines help lower harmful cholesterol in the blood, slowing the development of clogged arteries that can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
Because cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, statins have become one of the most important medicines in modern healthcare. However, some patients experience muscle aches, weakness, or difficulty exercising after starting treatment.
These uncomfortable symptoms sometimes become severe enough that people stop taking their medicine, increasing their future risk of heart disease. Scientists at McMaster University have now discovered a possible explanation for these muscle problems.
Their research, published in Science Advances, challenges previous ideas about how statins affect muscles and points toward new ways to reduce these unwanted side effects. Using laboratory-grown muscle cells and animal models, the researchers found that statins can disrupt the normal production of energy inside muscle cells.
Instead of simply weakening muscles directly, the change in energy production appears to switch on an immune response. This immune reaction then causes inflammation and damage within muscle tissue. Importantly, when the researchers blocked this immune pathway, much of the muscle injury disappeared.
Perhaps the most encouraging finding was that this immune pathway seems to be separate from the process that allows statins to lower cholesterol. This means future medicines might be able to protect muscles while preserving the powerful cardiovascular benefits of statins.
The research also revealed a close relationship between metabolism and the immune system, showing that problems with energy production can trigger inflammation inside cells. Scientists estimate that muscle symptoms affect between 7% and 29% of people taking statins, although many patients have no side effects at all.
Doctors continue to recommend statins because their proven benefits greatly outweigh the risks for most people. Patients should never stop taking these medicines without discussing it with their healthcare provider.
This research offers valuable insight into a long-standing medical question and identifies promising targets for future drug development. However, because the findings are based mainly on laboratory and animal studies, further research in human volunteers is needed before new treatments become available.
If confirmed, the discovery could improve medication adherence and help many more people receive the full heart-protective benefits of statins.
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.
Source: McMaster University.
