Statins: The New Miracle Drug?

Widely prescribed to lower cholesterol, recent studies are giving hope that statins may have even more health benefits.

One study shows that a particular statin, simvastatin, seems to reduce the risk of both dementia and Parkinson’s disease in an older patient population (65 years and over.) … Some research has shown that statins might not only be able to prevent some cancers, but they might also be able to act in conjunction with some chemotherapy drugs to improve the outcome of cancer treatments.

Of course, like with all drugs, there are risks. More research is needed before all the benefits of statins are fully known.

While the statins may be beneficial in a number of conditions, not just in cardiovascular disease, they are by no means totally benign drugs. They can have potentially serious, sometimes fatal, consequences. Most people have heard that statins can cause muscle pain. They can also, rarely, produce a reaction (rhabdomyolysis – destruction of muscle tissue) that can be fatal. And given with some other drugs (e.g., niacin, gemfibrozil and others) or foods (grapefruit juice), the risk of side effects from taking statins increases. There may also be a slight increase in the risk that a patient taking a statin could develop diabetes.

By: Mark Quincy Adams

A proud 'pragmatic progressive' Mark Quincy Adams has been a political
talk show host and prolific pontificator since 1992. Find him on Facebook and Twitter @politicalglutton