Doctors often give cholesterol-lowering medications to help prevent serious health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, especially as people get older.
These drugs usually do a good job of managing cholesterol levels, but new research is uncovering some side effects that we didn’t fully understand before.
The most common type of cholesterol-lowering drugs are statins, with brand names like Lipitor and Crestor. These work by lowering how much cholesterol the body makes. Another kind, called PCSK9 inhibitors, helps the body remove cholesterol that is already in the blood.
Recent studies have found some surprising side effects of these drugs. For example, PCSK9 inhibitors might be linked to lung problems. More research is needed to understand how serious these issues could be over time.
Statins also showed some unexpected effects. Some people who take statins might gain weight or have more body fat. There’s also a possible drop in testosterone levels, a hormone that’s important for both men and women.
But not all the news is bad. The same research found that statins could increase the size of the hippocampus, a part of the brain that helps with memory and mood. This might help lower the risk of problems like dementia and depression.
These findings come from a study led by Kitty Pham, a PhD student at the University of South Australia. Her team used genetic information to learn more about how these drugs affect people. This method helps scientists understand how people with different genes might respond to the same drug.
Using genetics in research is helpful because it’s faster and less expensive than long clinical trials, especially when looking at long-term drug effects.
Even though these studies bring up new concerns, they don’t mean people should stop taking their medications. Cholesterol-lowering drugs still play an important role in keeping people healthy. What’s important is that patients and doctors talk openly about any side effects or changes they notice.
For example, if someone taking statins gains weight or feels different, they should talk to their doctor. The same goes for anyone using PCSK9 inhibitors who notices changes in their breathing—this might be a sign of lung problems.
As scientists keep learning more, these studies help doctors and patients make better choices about how to use these medications. They give us a fuller picture of what these drugs do and how they might affect different people.
This research was published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and adds to our understanding of cholesterol-lowering medications. It shows how important it is to keep studying these common drugs to make sure they are safe and effective for everyone.
If you care about heart health, please read studies that vitamin K helps cut heart disease risk by a third, and a year of exercise reversed worrisome heart failure.
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