Re: Fear of Statins

Sarah wrote:

"Cougar" <purpleloverlibra@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:13ddsib66ef3jb2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I was supposed to start the Simvastatin (Zocor) Aug. 1st. I have been
afraid to start it. I have seen both sides to the argument. What am I
supposed to do? My cholesterol is coming down a little and my triglycerides were also down at lab time, ...

Alan recently initiated a thread on "Swings, Peaks, and Troughs" which related oxidative stress to more extreme blood glucose changes up and down. The following article relates the statin, simvastatin, to reductions in oxidative stress. Many medications' benefits need to be weighed against their negative side effects.

"Background— Both statins and vitamin E, by reducing the rate of lipid peroxidation, may interfere with oxidative stress, but the impact of their combination is unknown.

Methods and Results— We randomized 43 hypercholesterolemic patients (21 men, 22 women, age 63±11 years) to either simvastatin, to achieve >20% reduction of total cholesterol, or simvastatin plus 600 mg/d vitamin E for 2 months. Patients were then crossed over to the alternative treatment. Lipid parameters documented patients’ compliance to simvastatin, whereas plasma levels of vitamin E documented compliance and absorption of vitamin E. We assessed urinary excretion of the isoprostane 8-iso-prostaglandin F2{alpha} (8-iso-PGF2{alpha}) as an in vivo index of oxidative stress at baseline and after each month of therapy. 8-Iso-PGF2{alpha} was significantly reduced by simvastatin, from 361±148 pg/mg creatinine (mean±SD) at baseline to 239±124 pg/mg creatinine after 1 month. The addition of vitamin E did not reduce such levels any further (256±125 after 1 month). Linear regression analysis showed a weak inverse relationship of 8-iso-PGF2{alpha} with vitamin E levels but a much stronger relationship with LDL cholesterol (R2=0.162; P<0.001).

Conclusions— In hypercholesterolemic patients, LDL cholesterol is a major correlate of oxidative stress. Concomitant with LDL cholesterol reduction, simvastatin causes a drastic reduction of oxidative stress to a level that is not further reduced by the addition of vitamin E. Results of clinical trials with vitamin E may have been hampered by inadequate knowledge of the background level of lipid peroxidation, which is a major determinant of vitamin E bioactivity."
Low-Density Lipoprotein Level Reduction by the 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl Coenzyme-A Inhibitor Simvastatin Is Accompanied by a Related Reduction of F2-Isoprostane Formation in Hypercholesterolemic Subjects - http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/106/20/2543

Zocor has been on the market for 16 years and the incidence of serious side effects is very low and well documented. It is one of the safest drugs on the market and, if you need it, can be a life saver. The people that spread scare tactics against statins are doing a great disservice the ones that could benefit from them.

Not all statins have the same effects. What can be said for simvastatin may not be said for others in the case of Alzheimer's disease.

1: Am Heart J. 2006 Feb;151(2):273-81.
Are statins created equal? Evidence from randomized trials of pravastatin, simvastatin, and atorvastatin for cardiovascular disease prevention.Zhou Z, Rahme E, Pilote L. PMID: 16442888

A search for simvastatin+Alzheimers: 2,220 finds - http://tinyurl.com/22sjn4
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=simvastatin+Alzheimers+&hl=en&lr=&btnG=Search

Frank
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