Simvastatin as an Anti-Inflammatory and Neuroprotective Agent in Parkinson's Disease
Groundbreaking research suggests that the cholesterol lowering drug simvastatin may provide powerful neuroprotection in Parkinson's disease. A little known fact among the public is that statin drugs do more than simply lower cholesterol, they are also anti-inflammatory agents. In fact, many researchers believe that some of the cardiovascular benefits are due to their anti-inflammatory properties
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of recent I read of lung volume issues do to Parkinson's. I have low capacity lung as of early this year. I had Pulmonary Volume Test, I think I will ask for another test and discover if I am declining in function.
Your post speaks to me as I take medication for my heart disease:
- calcium blocker amlodipine that I have changed by Isradipine (supposed to slow PD
- provastatin that I would like to replace by sinvastatin but my physician does want . I doubt also myself (see the article below) I hope it can help
parkinsonsnewstoday.com/201...
“We are not saying that statins cause Parkinson’s disease, but rather that our study suggests that statins should not be used based on the idea that they will protect against Parkinson’s,” the researchers added. “People have individual levels of risk for heart problems or Parkinson’s. If your mom has Parkinson’s and your grandmother has Parkinson’s, and you don’t have a family history of heart attacks or strokes, then you might want to ask your physician more questions to understand the reasons and risks of taking statins.”
My husband’s problems began with statins and went downhill from there. We were able to slow the progress by following a study in process using large doses of CoQ10 and dietary changes using high doses of coconut oil to provide ketones and therefore energy.
It’s taken a long time for this info to get into the public arena but a handful of us knew it as long ago as 2003. One in that handful was a NASA doctor worried about the memory deficits commonly experienced with statins since pilots are regularly encouraged to use statins as a preventative....that in itself is erroneous as the study that got statins on the market only showed a benefit for MEN WHO HAD ALREADY HAD A CORONARY EVENT!
I do believe Don’s reaction was one of statins acting on his already existing genetic makeup and general state of health....what a price to pay.
Statin Users Are in Dire Need of CoQ10
At least 1 in 4 American adults over the age of 40 are currently taking a statin drug to lower their cholesterol. Soon that number is expected to reach 1 in 3. Statins work by inhibiting the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which is one of the facilitators of your body's production of cholesterol. But statins also impair production of CoQ10, and the resulting depletion can have very severe consequences.
"This is a very important topic," Schulman says. "Many who take statins have the side effects of muscle pain, fatigue and memory loss — to such a point that compliance becomes an issue; people don't want to be on statins anymore. It's been documented and recognized medically that these are real effects and that they're due to the statins. What's actually happening? The way a statin works is that it blocks your body's production of cholesterol.
We're always thinking about cholesterol from the diet ... Most people don't realize that cholesterol in the body comes from two places: from the diet and from your internal production of cholesterol. Cholesterol is quite important to your body, because cholesterol is one of the major components of cell membranes. It's also the precursor for all the sex hormones. It's not all bad. It's just bad when there's too much and that depends on what kind as well."
Besides shutting down your body's ability to produce ubiquinol, statin drugs also shut down the conversion of vitamin K1 to vitamin K2, which is critically important in many body functions, including heart health.
Impairing these three pathways — the production of cholesterol and CoQ10, and the vitamin K1 to K2 conversion — has adverse effects on the production of energy and on cardiovascular health, and here's why: when you reduce your ubiquinol levels, the conversion of your food to energy becomes less efficient, which leads to lower energy, fatigue and muscle pains.
And the longer you're on a statin drug, the more ubiquinol-starved your body becomes and the more severe the side effects become. Recently published papers have also detailed the cardiovascular repercussions of statins. As it turns out, they actually end up causing many of the disease endpoints the drugs promised to prevent. But that's not all!
Statins Severely Compromise Your Metabolism
As mentioned, one of the most rational strategies to reduce ROS production is to burn clean fuel. Ultimately, that results from eating a diet high in healthy high-quality fats. When fat is metabolized, ketones are created — a fat-soluble molecule that is readily burned in the mitochondria without causing the production of excess ROS.
Ketones are produced in the liver, and the enzyme that produces ketones is the same that produces cholesterol, namely HMG-CoA reductase. So when you're taking a statin drug, you also severely diminish your liver's ability to make ketones, thereby compromising your ability to benefit from a clean fuel (fat). In short, your metabolism becomes severely compromised.
Even if you're taking vitamin K2 and ubiquinol, you still have to address the fact that you cannot make ketones, because you cannot take a ketone supplement. Ultimately, this has cardiovascular consequences as well, because your heart is the most mitochondrial-dense tissue in your body. If you deprive your cardiac tissue of fuel, by definition you impair your cardiovascular health.
First, here is a patent application from Merck in 1990 which combines a statin + Coq10 (the drug was never made):
Coenzyme Q10 with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors
US 4933165 A
Second, here is the website from former NASA astronaut Dr. Graveline and it is about his experience with statins and memory loss, etc....you mentioned him in your post but not his name:
Right. Didn’t know he was still active...my initial research was in 2003-4.
That is very interesting. My cardiologist wants me on Atorvastatin but have been afraid to go on it due to all the negative publicity from a few years back and the possibility of leg cramps which I already get. but maybe I'll go on it! I filled the prescription 2 weeks ago but have been afraid to take it. Have you noticed any negative effects?
Thanks,
Aloha24
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