The Scoop on Statin Drugs

If you take Celebrex, Lipitor, Zocor or other drugs called "statins" to lower your cholesterol, you should be aware of some potential "unintended" benefits that may lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers. Some studies indicate they may also benefit in cases of multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.

The most common statin drugs are:
Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
Fluvastatin (Lescol)
Lovastatin (Mevacor)
Pravastatin (Pravachol)
Rosuvastatin (Crestor)
Simvastatin (Zocor)

Lipitor is the highest-selling drug in the United States.

The results of recent studies investigating these drugs are indeed encouraging, although more research remains to be done.

Here's how statins help:
NOTE: These preliminary findings are no reason to take Statin Pharmaceutical Drugs if you do not require them, and were not told by your doctor to use them. This is not meant to be medical advice. Please ask your doctor if you have questions about any of the information below.

Statin Pharmaceuticals and a Lower Risk of Breast Cancer:
Drugs aimed at lowering cholesterol are thought to work by blocking the production of an enzyme called "HMG-CoA reductase." This enzyme causes a series of events that ends with the production of cholesterol.

One study involving more than 40,000 women determined that those taking statin drugs to lower cholesterol had "a 51% lower risk of developing breast cancer." An earlier study indicated that "men who used statins had half the risk of advanced prostate cancer compared with men who did not use the drugs.

About these studies, done at Overtoon-Brooke VA Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, Dr. Vikas Khurana warned that people who have normal cholesterol should not take these drugs simply to prevent cancer, as they have some negative side effects, including muscle tissue damage and may even raise the risk of cancer in the elderly. Dr. Khurana stated that these drugs need to be carefully monitored."�

Statin Drugs and a Lower Risk of Prostate Cancer:
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 184,000 are told they have prostate cancer each year, and they recommend all men over 50 have the blood test that diagnoses the cancer every year.�

Scientists from Harvard and Johns Hopkins followed more than 30,000 men for 10 years and found that men who were taking statins reduced the risk of advanced prostate cancer by half and reduced their chances of developing invasive/aggressive prostate cancer.�

Asked how statins accomplish this, Dr. Khurana explained that statins "attach to the cell membrane through a lipid anchor. If the lipid anchor is depleted, which happens when using statins, there is a decreased production of all the intermediates." Or, it may be that statins interfere with tumor production, or work in some other way. "This is not the only mechanism by which statins work," Dr. Khurana said.�

If you are getting the impression that no one really knows how statins work, you are probably right. However, theories abound. According to one researcher, "Prostate cancer is often stimulated by testosterone and cholesterol lowering drugs may interfere with the production of testosterone."�

Celebrex and Supression of Colon Cancer
In previous studies, statin drugs have been shown to lower the risk of colon cancer. An article in the New York Times, May 11, 2005, reported:
"Ever since Vioxx and its sister drugs hit the headlines, attention has been focused on the unintended cardiovascular risks of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Now, however, some of that attention is being refocused on the potential anti-cancer properties of these drugs. Two studies presented April 18 at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, in Anaheim, Calif., provide evidence that the drugs may have some benefit against colon cancer.�

"The first study found that low doses of Celebrex, an NSAID that is part of the cox-2 drug family, and Lipitor, a statin drug normally used to lower cholesterol levels, were more effective when given in tandem against colon cancer in lab animals than higher doses of either drug on its own. �Ninety percent of the tumors were suppressed, which is amazing,' said study author Dr. Bandaru Reddy, a research professor at Rutgers University's School of Pharmacy, in Piscataway, N.J. The combination also had fewer side effects than either drug separately."�

A further study revealed that Celebrex affected the genes of people who were at risk for colorectal cancer. It has not been established for certain, but researchers say it may be that the cellular changes have a preventative effect. Celebrex is currently the only cox-2 inhibitor available, since Vioxx and Bextra were recalled. Cox-2 inhibitors are NSAID pain medications that are said to be easier on the stomach.�

Studies reported in Forbes Magazine indicated that low doses of Celebrex and Lipitor given together produced better results against colon cancer in lab animals than were shown with higher doses of either drug alone.�

"There's strong epidemiological and experimental evidence that NSAIDs, including aspirin, can reduce the risk of colon cancer," Reddy said. "There is also good evidence that cox-2 inhibitors can prevent carcinoma in a pre-clinical model, but toxicity [side effects] was a major concern because they're using high doses."�

Reddy gave his laboratory rats 120 milligrams of Celebrex and 40 milligrams of Lipitor per day. Compared to the control group, those rats boasted a 95% reduction in both invasive and non-invasive cancers. "Celebrex on its own reduced the incidence and number of colon tumors by 80 percent. Lipitor reduced tumor incidence by 31 percent to 41 percent," he said.
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Statins and Protection Against Heart Disease
According to Redonda Miller, M. D., assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, "These drugs have had a fantastic impact on cholesterol treatment. They all lower cholesterol levels, [and] the side effects are minimal."

Researches have found that the risk of dying of heart disease decreased by 15% for every cholesterol reduction of 10%. It is this effect that helps to prevent heart disease. The statin drugs have similar safety profiles and similar benefits. It is only when the highest dosages are employed that difference begin to be seen.�

The Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study of 1994 showed a 42% reduction in fatal heart disease over five years in coronary heart disease patients who had lowered their cholesterol with Zocor. A similar study from Scotland in 1995 revealed that patients whose cholesterol was normal found that Pravachol reduced death from all causes.�

The Air Force/Texas Coronary Atherosclerosis Prevention Study of 1997 indicated that Mevacor aided in preventing "first heart attacks or unstable angina in men and women with average cholesterol levels but with below-average HDL."�

Statin Drugs and Better Chance of Survival after Stroke
A study by the American Academy of Neurology showed that patients who took statin drugs before and after a stroke were "substantially more likely to survive" and to stay out of nursing homes, as well. Some 1600+ patients were involved, all of whom had suffered an "ischemic" stroke, caused by a blocked blood vessel in the brain - the most common type of stroke. It found that those who took statins before their stroke were 1.6 times more likely to survive. Those who started taking statins after their stroke were 2.6 times more likely to survive. "Most of the people who were discharged home did well with their recovery," said co-author Maiaz Moonis, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Moonis did not believe these survivals were caused by lowered cholesterol. More likely they were due to reduced clotting, inflammation and improved health of the endothelium (lining of the inside of blood vessels). It was pure speculation, but he thought perhaps statin drugs could help brain cells return to health after a stroke, and that they also might help in producing new brain cells.

Statins and A Decreased Risk of Developing Alzheimer's Disease
Epidemiological studies have shown that lowering cholesterol levels with statin drugs can decrease the risk of Alzheimer's. Previous studies had indicated that patients with high risk of cardiovascular disease were also at risk for Alzheimer's, possibly influenced by cholesterol levels and differences in the way the body processes cholesterol.

Again, researchers warn that these are only preliminary results. Clinical trials will be needed to compare the incidence of Alzheimer's Disease among two groups: one whose members are taking statins, and a group who is not. The two groups will be alike in all other important respects. Because the effects of statin drugs on people with normal cholesterol counts is not known, such studies should include those persons. The ways in which statins alter pathological mechanisms in the body also needs to be explored.

Statin Drugs' May Help With Multiple Sclerosis
Statins seem to have two opposing effects on immune responses involved in MS, which causes the immune system to attack the brain and spinal cord. While they proved to be effective in blocking some immune responses in MS sufferers, they also resulted in a higher level of some "messenger" proteins that promote inflammation. Again, clinical trials are needed to explore this issue further.

A study reported by Dr. Oliver Neuhaus and others at the April 2002 meeting of the American Academy of Neurology dealt with treating mice with a sister disease called EAE with Lipitor. It studied the action of statins on white blood (immune) cells in test tubes. The cells were treated and tested to see how they reacted to the presence of statins. Zocor proved to be the most effective, followed by Mevacor. The study found, however, that gamma interferon and IL-12 increased in the presence of statins.

It found that Lipitor given at the onset of their disease reversed their paralysis, and that drug given after an acute attack could stop the attack. It also indicated that all the statins blocked the immune cells' responses, the protein they produced, and level of inflammation - aspects of the immune attack MS brings.

Much work still needs to be done before doctors will feel comfortable prescribing statins to treat people for these diseases, but there is hope on the horizon.