New test shows source of statin side-effects

Courtesy of Reuters

A new panel of tests aimed at finding out how drugs may damage cells has turned up a series of interactions that may explain some of the serious side-effects of statin drugs, researchers said on Sunday. Statins, the wildly popular cholesterol-lowering drugs, may interact with at least one blood pressure drug to damage the mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells, the researchers reported in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

The mitochondria are structures in cells that make adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, which helps power cells. Mootha's team tested more than 2,000 drugs on cells to see how they might interfere with this process. Their test looks at gene function, ATP levels and other measures of how well the mitochondria are working. Many patients who take statins have reported side-effects that include muscle pain and weakness. The cause is not well understood but Mootha has long suspected the mitochondria are involved. Mootha's team said their findings showed some statins lower ATP levels and interfere with the mitochondria.

"Of the six statins present in our screening collection, three (fluvastatin, lovastatin and simvastatin) produced strong decreases in cellular ATP levels and (mitochondrial) activity," they wrote. Fluvastatin is sold by Novartis under the brand name Lescol, lovastatin is sold under the brand name Mevacor and simvaststin is sold as Zocor.

"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 a few. "We were struck by the fact that one of these nearest-neighbor drugs is propranolol, a widely used antihypertensive agent," they wrote. Propranolol is a so-called beta blocker drug sold by Wyeth under the brand name Inderal and also available generically. "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."

Other drugs that resembled statins in their activity in mitochondria included amoxapine, cyclobenzaprine, griseofulvin, pentamidine, paclitaxel, propafenone, ethaverine, trimeprazine and amitriptyline. A similar process may be going on in diabetes, nerve degeneration and aging, Mootha's team said. They found a number of drugs, including the cancer drug vinblastine may counter this process. Mootha cautioned that his group has worked only in batches of muscle cells grown in the lab so far and that far more tests are needed.

Bonnie - I don't get why these researchers thought that this issue was not well understood. It is crystal clear. The depletion of CoQ10 affects the mitochondria. Statins have this depleting affect and is precisely the reason why I ALWAYS suggest supplementing with Co-Enzyme Q10 if on a statin.

I was surprised to learn of all the other medications that affect the mitochondria as well. We'll review this database and make further comment.