Heart disease remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and statins are one of the best tools doctors have for lowering that risk.
These medicines reduce harmful cholesterol and help prevent heart attacks and strokes.
However, not everyone can take them comfortably because muscle pain and weakness sometimes appear after treatment begins.
Scientists have spent years trying to understand why these side effects occur. A new study led by researchers at McMaster University now points to a previously unknown biological process that may finally provide an answer.
Their work was published in the journal Science Advances.
The research team discovered that statins may change how muscle cells generate energy. When this happens, the muscle cells trigger an immune response inside themselves.
Rather than helping the body, this response appears to damage muscle tissue and contribute to pain and weakness.
This finding changes the way researchers think about statin side effects. Earlier theories focused mainly on direct effects of the medicine on muscles. The new work suggests that the body’s own immune system plays an important role after changes in muscle metabolism occur.
To investigate the process, scientists carried out experiments using muscle cells and mouse models.
When they blocked the immune pathway, much of the muscle damage was prevented. This result suggests that future medicines might protect muscles without reducing the cholesterol-lowering action of statins.
One of the most exciting parts of the study is that the beneficial effects of statins appear to use a different biological pathway from the one causing muscle problems. This raises the possibility of treating the side effects separately. If successful, patients could continue receiving the heart-protective benefits while avoiding much of the discomfort.
The study also strengthens evidence that metabolism and the immune system are closely connected. The way cells produce energy can influence inflammation and immune activity in unexpected ways. Understanding these relationships may help researchers develop treatments for other diseases beyond statin intolerance.
Muscle-related side effects are estimated to affect between seven and twenty-nine percent of statin users. Because of this, some patients lower their dose or stop treatment completely, increasing their future risk of cardiovascular disease. Finding ways to improve tolerance could therefore save many lives.
The researchers emphasize that people should continue taking prescribed statins unless advised otherwise by their healthcare provider. The new findings are promising, but additional research and human clinical trials are needed before any new treatment becomes available.
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Source: McMaster University.
