Statins and Muscle Pain - Is There an Answer That Will Alleviate The Pain?
It seems that there is always a ying and yang effect with everything and statins and muscle pain are not different in this regard at all.
In an attempt to block cholesterol an individual will take statins and all of a sudden they may be in discomfort with mild to serious muscle pain.
Why is this? Is there an answer that will help alleviate the pain?
To really understand the process let's first have a look at statins and how they react with the body.
These are very popular cholesterol drug. It is also a very effective cholesterol drug. Statins work by entering the blood stream and actually blocking a protein called HMG-CoA reductase.
Ideal for Cholesterol Control
This protein is responsible for building cholesterol in the liver. These are really great medications for individuals who are unable to actually control their cholesterol level by themselves.
The unfortunate part is that in many cases statins and muscle pain go hand and hand.
This muscle pain ranges from low level muscle weakness all the way up to a rhabdomyolysis, which is a very rare disorder when the muscle fiber breaks down and can actually be life threatening.
In fact many experts agree that about 25% of people who use statins experience some form of muscle pain which is directly related to them taking the medication.
Most of the side effects are much closer to the lower level of the spectrum but with more and more people being prescribed these medications the numbers are increasing rapidly.
There is a clear indication that Statins and Muscle Pain are very connected.
Scientists are Close to an Answer
While studying the phenom of statins and muscle pain scientists have discovered that there was one constant in every case reported.
There was a single element that was in the cells of each of the individuals which reported muscle pain and it was called atrogin-1.
This atrogin-1, when combined with the statins signals the actually body to begin the process which causes muscle waste in the body and signals the body to start wasting the skeletal muscle which is commonly associated with the worst levels of muscle pain, rhabdomyolysis.
They also were able to remove the atrogin-1 from the cells and test again.
There was no muscle waste at all when this was removed. This gives a clear signal that they are on the right path.
But the road is still a long one, they must still find a way to cancel the side effect that the statins are causing on the atrogin-1 in the cells.
The Conclusion
So in the long run there may be an answer to muscle pain caused by statins, but at this time unfortunately scientists have not come up with a solution.
These medications are causing side effects in some 25 percent of the people taking the medication, but some are not serious side effects.
The fact remains, that many of these statins are still the best solution to the high cholesterol problem in many adults.
If it was possible for these people to control their cholesterol themselves through diet that would be the best solution, but until the public takes the responsibly to eat clean on themselves.