The Dangers of Statin Drugs: Part I

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http://www.mercola.com/2004/jul/21/statin_drugs.htm

 

The Dangers of Statin Drugs: What You Haven't Been

Told About Cholesterol-Lowering Medication, Part I

 

By Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD

Originally printed at Weston A. Price

 

Hypercholesterolemia is the health issue of the 21st

century. It is actually an invented disease, a

" problem " that emerged when health professionals

learned how to measure cholesterol levels in the

blood. High cholesterol exhibits no outward

signs--unlike other conditions of the blood, such as

diabetes or anemia, diseases that manifest telltale

symptoms like thirst or weakness--hypercholesterolemia

requires the services of a physician to detect its

presence. Many people who feel perfectly healthy

suffer from high cholesterol--in fact, feeling good is

actually a symptom of high cholesterol!

 

Doctors who treat this new disease must first convince

their patients that they are sick and need to take one

or more expensive drugs for the rest of their lives,

drugs that require regular checkups and blood tests.

But such doctors do not work in a vacuum--their

efforts to convert healthy people into patients are

bolstered by the full weight of the U.S. government,

the media and the medical establishment, agencies that

have worked in concert to disseminate the cholesterol

dogma and convince the population that high

cholesterol is the forerunner of heart disease and

possibly other diseases as well.

 

Who suffers from hypercholesterolemia? Peruse the

medical literature of 25 or 30 years ago and you'll

get the following answer: any middle-aged man whose

cholesterol is over 240 with other risk factors, such

as smoking or overweight.

 

After the Cholesterol Consensus Conference in 1984,

the parameters changed; anyone (male or female) with

cholesterol over 200 could receive the dreaded

diagnosis and a prescription for pills. Recently that

number has been moved down to 180. If you have had a

heart attack, you get to take cholesterol-lowering

medicines even if your cholesterol is already very

low--after all, you have committed the sin of having a

heart attack so your cholesterol must therefore be too

high. The penance is a lifetime of

cholesterol-lowering medications along with a boring

low-fat diet. But why wait until you have a heart

attack? Since we all labor under the stigma of

original sin, we are all candidates for treatment.

Current edicts stipulate cholesterol testing and

treatment for young adults and even children.

 

The drugs that doctors use to treat the new disease

are called statins--sold under a variety of names

including:

 

* Lipitor (atorvastatin)

* Zocor (simvastatin)

* Mevacor (lovastatin)

* Pravachol (pravastatin)

 

How Statins Work

 

This diagram illustrates the pathways involved in

cholesterol production.

 

The process begins with acetyl-CoA, a two-carbon

molecule sometimes referred to as the " building block

of life. " Three acetyl-CoA molecules combine to form

six-carbon hydroxymethyl glutaric acid (HMG). The step

from HMG to mevalonate requires an enzyme, HMG-CoA

reductase. Statin drugs work by inhibiting this

enzyme--hence the formal name of HMG-CoA reductase

inhibitors. Herein lies the potential for numerous

side effects, because statin drugs inhibit not just

the production of cholesterol, but a whole family of

intermediary substances, many if not all of which have

important biochemical functions in their own right.

 

Consider the findings of pediatricians at the

University of California, San Diego who published a

description of a child with a hereditary defect of

mevalonic kinase, the enzyme that facilitates the next

step beyond HMG-CoA reductase.1 The child was mentally

retarded, microcephalic (very small head), small for

his age, profoundly anemic, acidotic and febrile. He

also had cataracts. Predictably, his cholesterol was

consistently low--70-79 mg/dl. He died at the age of

24 months. The child represents an extreme example of

cholesterol inhibition, but his case illuminates the

possible consequences of taking statins in strong

doses or for a lengthy period of time:

 

* Depression of mental acuity

* Anemia

* Acidosis

* Frequent fevers

* Cataracts

 

Cholesterol is one of three end products in the

mevalonate chain. The two others are ubiquinone and

dilochol. Ubiquinone or Co-Enzyme Q10 is a critical

cellular nutrient biosynthesized in the mitochondria.

It plays a role in ATP production in the cells and

functions as an electron carrier to cytochrome

oxidase, our main respiratory enzyme. The heart

requires high levels of Co-Q10. A form of Co-Q10

called ubiquinone is found in all cell membranes where

it plays a role in maintaining membrane integrity so

critical to nerve conduction and muscle integrity.

Co-Q10 is also vital to the formation of elastin and

collagen. Side effects of Co-Q10 deficiency include

muscle wasting leading to weakness and severe back

pain, heart failure (the heart is a muscle!),

neuropathy and inflammation of the tendons and

ligaments, often leading to rupture.

 

Dolichols also play a role of immense importance. In

the cells they direct various proteins manufactured in

response to DNA directives to their proper targets,

ensuring that the cells respond correctly to

genetically programmed instruction. Thus statin drugs

can lead to unpredictable chaos on the cellular level,

much like a computer virus that wipes out certain

pathways or files.

 

Squalene, the immediate precursor to cholesterol, has

anti-cancer effects, according to research.

 

The fact that some studies have shown that statins can

prevent heart disease, at least in the short term, is

most likely explained not by the inhibition of

cholesterol production but because they block the

creation of mevalonate. Reduced amounts of mevalonate

seem to make smooth muscle cells less active, and

platelets less able to produce thromboxane.

Atherosclerosis begins with the growth of smooth

muscle cells in side artery walls and thromboxane is

necessary for blood clotting.

 

Cholesterol

 

Of course, statins inhibit the production of

cholesterol--they do this very well. Nowhere is the

failing of our medical system more evident than in the

wholesale acceptance of cholesterol reduction as a way

to prevent disease--have all these doctors forgotten

what they learned in biochemistry 101 about the many

roles of cholesterol in the human biochemistry?

 

Every cell membrane in our body contains cholesterol

because cholesterol is what makes our cells

waterproof--without cholesterol we could not have a

different biochemistry on the inside and the outside

of the cell. When cholesterol levels are not adequate,

the cell membrane becomes leaky or porous, a situation

the body interprets as an emergency, releasing a flood

of corticoid hormones that work by sequestering

cholesterol from one part of the body and transporting

it to areas where it is lacking. Cholesterol is the

body's repair substance: scar tissue contains high

levels of cholesterol, including scar tissue in the

arteries.

 

Cholesterol is the precursor to vitamin D, necessary

for numerous biochemical processes including mineral

metabolism. The bile salts, required for the digestion

of fat, are made of cholesterol. Those who suffer from

low cholesterol often have trouble digesting fats.

Cholesterol also functions as a powerful antioxidant,

thus protecting us against cancer and aging.

 

Cholesterol is vital to proper neurological function.

It plays a key role in the formation of memory and the

uptake of hormones in the brain, including serotonin,

the body's feel-good chemical. When cholesterol levels

drop too low, the serotonin receptors cannot work.

Cholesterol is the main organic molecule in the brain,

constituting over half the dry weight of the cerebral

cortex.

 

Finally, cholesterol is the precursor to all the

hormones produced in the adrenal cortex including

glucocorticoids, which regulate blood sugar levels,

and mineralocorticoids, which regulate mineral

balance. Corticoids are the cholesterol-based adrenal

hormones that the body uses in response to stress of

various types; it promotes healing and balances the

tendency to inflammation. The adrenal cortex also

produces sex hormones, including testosterone,

estrogen and progesterone, out of cholesterol. Thus,

low cholesterol--whether due to an innate error of

metabolism or induced by cholesterol-lowering diets

and drugs--can be expected to disrupt the production

of adrenal hormones and lead to:

 

* Blood sugar problems

* Edema

* Mineral deficiencies

* Chronic inflammation

* Difficulty in healing

 

 

 

* Allergies

* Asthma

* Reduced libido

* Infertility

* Various reproductive problems

 

Enter the Statins

 

Statin drugs entered the market with great promise.

They replaced a class of pharmaceuticals that lowered

cholesterol by preventing its absorption from the gut.

These drugs often had immediate and unpleasant side

effects, including nausea, indigestion and

constipation, and in the typical patient they lowered

cholesterol levels only slightly. Patient compliance

was low: the benefit did not seem worth the side

effects and the potential for use very limited. By

contrast, statin drugs had no immediate side effects:

they did not cause nausea or indigestion and they were

consistently effective, often lowering cholesterol

levels by 50 points or more.

 

During the last 20 years, the industry has mounted an

incredible promotional campaign--enlisting scientists,

advertising agencies, the media and the medical

profession in a blitz that turned the statins into one

of the bestselling pharmaceuticals of all time.

Sixteen million Americans now take Lipitor, the most

popular statin, and drug company officials claim that

36 million Americans are candidates for statin drug

therapy.

 

What bedevils the industry is growing reports of side

effects that manifest many months after the

commencement of therapy; the November 2003 issue of

Smart Money magazine reports on a 1999 study at St.

Thomas' Hospital in London (apparently unpublished),

which found that 36 percent of patients on Lipitor's

highest dose reported side effects; even at the lowest

dose, 10 percent reported side effects.2

 

Muscle Pain and Weakness

 

The most common side effect is muscle pain and

weakness, a condition called rhabdomyolysis, most

likely due to the depletion of Co-Q10, a nutrient that

supports muscle function. Dr. Beatrice Golomb of San

Diego, California is currently conducting a series of

studies on statin side effects. The industry insists

that only 2-3 percent of patients get muscle aches and

cramps but in one study, Golomb found that 98 percent

of patients taking Lipitor and one-third of the

patients taking Mevachor (a lower-dose statin)

suffered from muscle problems.3 A message board

devoted to Lipitor at forum.ditonline.com contains

more than 800 posts, many detailing severe side

effects. The Lipitor board at www.rxlist.com contains

more than 2,600 posts.

 

The test for muscle wasting or rhabdomyolysis is

elevated levels of a chemical called creatine kinase

(CK). But many people experience pain and fatigue even

though they have normal CK levels.4

 

Tahoe City resident Doug Peterson developed slurred

speech, balance problems and severe fatigue after

three years on Lipitor--for two and a half years, he

had no side effects at all.5 It began with restless

sleep patterns--twitching and flailing his arms. Loss

of balance followed and the beginning of what Doug

calls the " statin shuffle " --a slow, wobbly walk across

the room. Fine motor skills suffered next. It took him

five minutes to write four words, much of which was

illegible. Cognitive function also declined. It was

hard to convince his doctors that Lipitor could be the

culprit, but when he finally stopped taking it, his

coordination and memory improved.

 

John Altrocchi took Mevacor for three years without

side effects; then he developed calf pain so severe he

could hardly walk. He also experienced episodes of

temporary memory loss.

 

For some, however, muscle problems show up shortly

after treatment begins. Ed Ontiveros began having

muscle problems within 30 days of taking Lipitor. He

fell in the bathroom and had trouble getting up. The

weakness subsided when he went off Lipitor. In another

case, reported in the medical journal Heart, a patient

developed rhabdomyolysis after a single dose of a

statin.6 Heel pain from plantar fascitis (heel spurs)

is another common complaint among those taking statin

drugs. One correspondent reported the onset of pain in

the feet shortly after beginning statin treatment. She

had visited an evangelist, requesting that he pray for

her sore feet. He enquired whether she was taking

Lipitor. When she said yes, he told her that his feet

had also hurt when he took Lipitor.7

 

Active people are much more likely to develop problems

from statin use than those who are sedentary. In a

study carried out in Austria, only six out of 22

athletes with familial hypercholesterolemia were able

to endure statin treatment.8 The others discontinued

treatment because of muscle pain.

 

By the way, other cholesterol-lowering agents besides

statin drugs can cause joint pain and muscle weakness.

A report in Southern Medical Journal described muscle

pains and weakness in a man who took Chinese red rice,

an herbal preparation that lowers cholesterol.9 Anyone

suffering from myopathy, fibromyalgia, coordination

problems and fatigue needs to look at low cholesterol

plus Co-Q10 deficiency as a possible cause.

 

Stay tuned for Part II