New Study Explains Side Effects of Popular Cholesterol Drugs

February 26, 2008

http://www.redorbit.com:80/news/health/1268667/new_study_explains_side_effects_of_popular_cholesterol_drugs/

(see also: http://abclocal.go.com:80/kabc/story?section=news/health & id=5979943 )

(my own comments in red.... I AM venting)

Posted on: Monday, 25 February 2008, 15:35 CST

Scientists from Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) reported Sunday the results of a study that may explain some of the potentially serious side effects of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.

(er excuse me but we have been consistently told by the medical fraternity and the makers of statin drugs that they - they drugs - do not produce side effects..... and if they do, then these said side effects are extremely rare!)The researchers believe the study may also lead to new treatments for age-related diseases and diabetes, as well as offer improvements in screening for side-effects of the drugs.

(here we go again - follow the $$$$$... they can find other medical problems which they can invent drugs for, sell they drugs, create new problems.... and into a viscious cycle we again progress.............)In performing their study, the researchers developed a new panel of tests that revealed how the statins may damage cells. They found the statins may interact with at least one blood pressure medication and damage the cell’s mitochondria. Mitochondria produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which powers the cells. Many patients who take statins suffer side-effects, (gosh these scientists are going to be outlawed .... stuck off ..... sent to Coventry by other's in their field of expertiese) including muscle pain and weakness. (I was going to ask if I could have that in writing please - grin) Although the underlying cause is not well understood, Vamsi Mootha of the Broad Institute at Harvard University and MIT, who led the study, had long suspected the mitochondria were involved. However previous studies of different groups had produced conflicting results, making it difficult to determine the origins of the side effects. Mootha and his team tested more than 2,000 drugs to examine how they might interfere with cellular processes

.. They tested gene function, ATP levels and other aspects of how well the mitochondria were functioning.The results showed that three of the six statins tested, (thats interesting ONLY THREE) including fluvastatin, lovastatin and simvastatin, produced “strong decreases in cellular ATP levels and (mitochondrial) activity," the researchers wrote in their report. Fluvastatin, made by Novartis, is marketed under the brand name Lescolsold. Lovastatin is sold under the brand name Mevacor and simvaststin is sold as Zocor.The remaining three statins, including atorvastatin, made by Pfizer under the brand name Lipitor, pravastatin or Pravachol, made by Bristol Myers Squibb and rosuvastatin, sold under the Crestor brand name by AstraZeneca, had little effect, the researchers reported."We asked what pattern of dysfunction they cause in the mitochondria," Mootha said in a Reuters telephone interview. "Once we figured out what the pattern was we asked what other FDA-approved drugs give rise to that same pattern of mitochondrial dysfunction."They found several that did. "We were struck by the fact that one of these nearest-neighbor drugs is propranolol, a widely used antihypertensive agent," the researchers wrote."That was a bit of a surprise," Mootha said. "And it is important because so many patients are on a statin as well as blood pressure medication."Propranolol, made by Wyeth and sold under the name Inderal, is a beta blocker drug and is also available generically.Other drugs that resembled statins affecting mitochondria included amoxapine, cyclobenzaprine, griseofulvin, pentamidine, paclitaxel, propafenone, ethaverine, trimeprazine and amitriptyline.A similar process may be occurring with diabetes, nerve degeneration and aging, the researchers said. They found a number of drugs may counter this process, such as the cancer drug vinblastine.However, Mootha warned that his group has worked only in batches of muscle cells grown in the lab and more tests needed to be completed.Mootha said the new database is freely available to other scientists to use for screening drugs.---On the Net:Harvard UniversityMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe study was published Sunday in the journal Nature Biotechnology. An abstract of the report can be viewed at http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nbt1387.html

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