Misc Statins

[Allylbenzene]

As this is a harm reduction forum it made sense to share this image.
It depicts the 4 things that statins prevent the body from making (in green) and potential harms (in red).

If you look at the descriptions inside the green boxes you can get a fairly good idea of their importance.

Published in the American Heart Association: Circulation Research Journal.
Source: https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.118.312782

 

[Skorpio]

The upper bound for patients getting statin side effects was 30% (with ranges running from 1-30% depending on the different studies cited). Of these 72% of statin side effects were muscular.

This makes sense to me, as I have been taught that regulation of LDL levels is not the driver in cardiovascular mortality reductions due to statins. (CETP inhibitors for example lower LDL and raise HDL beautifully and have no effect on mortality; LDL and HDL likely represent some more complex aspect of cardiovascular health, and directly manipulating them may not be particularly beneficial).

Instead, I have heard that statins induce mitochondrial oxidative stress in muscle tissue, and in cardiac muscle, this induces transcription of a suite of antioxidant enzymes, which fortify the heart. This one study (open access and good work) shows that skeletal muscle does not have the same hormesis effect as cardiac muscle, and this oxidative stress without any compensation leads to muscle soreness and damage.

 

[Allylbenzene]

Nowhere did I say that cholesterol was "bad for you" there. Chris Masterjohn definitely has some salient points (TL;DR: high cholesterol intake not associated with heart disease, cholesterol is an essential nutrient, statins are probably harmful).

For once I'll agree with sekio.

 

[neversickanymore]

i had clear side effects but with a downgrade to a different statin i’m totally good as far as negative physical effects. My experience was certainly muscular but with the change in statin it’s completely gone.

 

[Allylbenzene]

i had clear side effects but with a downgrade to a different statin i’m totally good as far as negative physical effects. My experience was certainly muscular but with the change in statin it’s completely gone.

I'm glad you had relief from the side effects. The other negative effects are cumulative so it's a question of time. Cholesterol is used to make brain tissue, nerve tissue (myelin sheath for nerve insulation), sex hormones and digestive bile. Statins also block the production of dolichols, prenylated proteins and ubiquinone which have key roles in multiple areas (see picture in 1st post).

This explains why the long-term consequences include cognitive degeneration, myopathy & neurodegeneration.