Statin Use Linked To Rare Autoimmune Muscle Disease
Posted Dec 08 2010 10:20pm
Johns Hopkins researchers discover how cholesterol-lowering drugs can cause body to attack its own proteins; caution patients not to fear popular medication
Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered how statins, the most commonly prescribed class of medication in the United States, appear to trigger a rare but serious autoimmune muscle disease in a small portion of the 30 million Americans who take the cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Taking statins, they found, can sometimes cause the body to produce antibodies against its own proteins, creating a condition that gets progressively worse — not better — even after the medication is discontinued. As the painful and debilitating disorder is uncommon and can be treated with steroids and other immune-suppressing drugs, the Hopkins researchers caution that people who must be on statins to reduce serious risk of heart disease and stroke should not avoid the drugs.
Johns Hopkins researchers discover how cholesterol-lowering drugs can cause body to attack its own proteins; caution patients not to fear popular medication
Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered how statins, the most commonly prescribed class of medication in the United States, appear to trigger a rare but serious autoimmune muscle disease in a small portion of the 30 million Americans who take the cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Taking statins, they found, can sometimes cause the body to produce antibodies against its own proteins, creating a condition that gets progressively worse — not better — even after the medication is discontinued. As the painful and debilitating disorder is uncommon and can be treated with steroids and other immune-suppressing drugs, the Hopkins researchers caution that people who must be on statins to reduce serious risk of heart disease and stroke should not avoid the drugs.