has anyone on this board received information about an association
between neurodegenerative diseases and statins?  I am of the belief my
husband and a dear friend developed parkinson's disease/parkinsonism
due to both having taken Lipitor for 4+ yrs.  one linear explanation
for this (and yes, i know little in medicine is so linear): #1 plasma
and platelet measurements of coenzyme Q10 in patients with Parkinson;'s
disease have consistently been abnormally low.  #2--use of megadose
coq10 for patients with early onset parkinson's resulted in a decrease
in the progression of symptoms, suggesting efficacy of megadose coq10
(study was small and is being replicated in multicenters at present)
#3--statins interrupt the mevalonate pathway which is not only the
pathway to cholesterol but also the pathway to coenzyme q10.  as well
as the pathway to dolichols--precursors to glycoproteins.
there is scientific theory that Parkinson's disease results from
"mitochondrial dysfunction".  since coq10 is an intregal part of the
mitochondrial electron transport chain (esp complexes 1. II/III and V)
depriving the body of this vital element could easily result in
disruption of mitochondrial function --and thus production of ATP.
oxidative stress is condsidered another "causative factor" in
parkinson's --coq10 is a major antioxidant for the neurological system,
neurtralizing reactive oxygen species .  when coq10 is deficient, seems
natural that more ROS are not "neutralized" and thus are left to damage
the structures in which they are produced.  within the mitochondria,it
is theorized that increased oxidataive stress can result in somatic
point mutations within the mtDNA---and there exists  reported  evidence
of increased mtDNA somatic point mutations in patients with PD.
these instances of PD (and the 16 other instances of potential statin
induced Parkinson's I have received emails about) may well be cases of
genetic variability interacting with an environmental agent--in this
case, a statin--to cause a neurodegenerative disease.  however rarely
this occurs, given the millions of people who are taking this class of
drugs, the numbers affected could be enormous.
in obtaining information about the use of PET scanning to help with a
definitive diagnosis of Parkinson, my husbnad consulted a friend who is
a diagnostic radiologist.  when informed that he wished to have the
test because of the question regarding statins and Parkinson's, the
radiologist responded that this was the first case of statin induced
Parkinson's he had heard about, but within the past yr. he has seen
about 40 patients who were misdiagnosed with ALS--(all referred for
EMG's)they suffered from statin toxicities.  most of these individuals
presented with swallowing and speech difficulties....
surely, if there is a possibility that statins can induce
neurodegenerative diseases in susceptible individuals, studies could be
conducted to determine if in fact this is occurring, and possibly
therapies to correct the underlying damage wrought by statins could be
developed.  and at the very least, physicians could be notified of this
relationship and patients could be advised if they deveop any
neurological symptoms while on this class of drug to call their
physician immediately.
If you have never heard of an association between statins and
neurodegenerative diseases, perhaps any of the physicians who are on
this board could begin asking any patients with neuro problems about
their use of statins.  in a small study at the univ of miami, Dr. Abe
Lieberman compared 2 groups of PD patients --one who were on statins
and the other grops who were not--to determine if progression of
symptoms varied in these 2 groups.  he was very satisfied to find that
there seemed to be no great difference--however the most important part
of the report (in my estimation)  of the study which was mentioned
without further elaboration  was a comment that there were 5 patients
in the group who were not on statins at the beginning of the study who
were started on statins during the study.  ALL 5 OF THESE INDIVIDUALS
EXPERIENCED A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN THEIR PD SYMPTOMS AFTER STARTING A
STATIN, AND EVEN WHEN THE STATIN WAS STOPPED, THE SYMPTOMS NEVER
REVERTED TO PRE-STATIN STATUS.  sort of screams for a prospective study
to me.......
i would welcome any comments, and suspect many of them will be negative
ones.  seems any questions i raise about the safety of statins results
in vituperative responses.  please understand, i am not advocating
everyone stop their statins--I am aware that they result in a decrease
in inflammation everywhere and an increase in perfusion
everywhere---nor that the drug hurts everyone--i think there is a
subset of individuals who are greatly harmed by this class of drugs,
and at least that the possiblilty should be considered and studied.
possibily a Phase IV study on Lipitor?????? given the ubiquitous use of
statins and the numbers of individuals with Parkinson's, i know a
causal relationship will be difficult to prove..........