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 | Research: Possible Mode of Action for Statins in MS |
 We have heard a lot of buzz over the last two years about the potential for statins, or common cholesterol-lowering drugs like Simvastatin, Zocor, etc. to have a beneficial effect on multiple sclerosis. The link between lowering cholesterol and reducing MS lesions and progressions is unclear, however.
This new study links three major inflammatory diseases to one gene variant: cardiovascular disease, rheumatism, and multiple sclerosis.
Researchers discovered that people with the gene variant ran a 20-40% greater risk of developing rheumatism, MS or a myocardial infarction. The gene variant is common, however, with 20-25% of the population carrying it. The gene variant leads to a reduction in the production of immune defense proteins.
So how does this affect statins? Statins actually reduce activity in this gene! Interesting, no doubt.
"This gene variant can therefore be one of the single largest genetic causes of complex diseases with inflammatory components," says Fredrik Piehl, associate professor at Karolinska Institutet and researcher at the CMM."
Click "read more" for the link to the original article.
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Posted by Administrator on Friday, April 29 @ 14:28:46 EDT (2037 reads)
(Read More... | 1369 bytes more | Research | Score: 5)
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| Research: Statins Beneficial for Spinal Cord Injury (in rats) |
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We have seen in previous studies that cholesterol-lowering statin drugs could have positive effect on MS (further studies are underway). The following study shows some more proof in that vein: here, atorvastatin, (commonly known as Lipitor), is shown as beneficial for central nervous system injury (but in rats)...
"Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating and complex clinical condition involving proinflammatory cytokines and nitric oxide toxicity that produces a predictable pattern of progressive injury entailing neuronal loss, axonal destruction, and demyelination at the site of impact...We have reported previously the antiinflammatory properties and immunomodulatory activities of statins (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl [HMG]-CoA reductase inhibitors) in the animal model of multiple sclerosis, experimental allergic encephalitis (EAE). The present study was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of atorvastatin (Lipitor; LP) treatment in attenuating SCI-induced pathology...
This study therefore reports the beneficial effect of atorvastatin for the treatment of SCI-related pathology and disability.
Please click "read more" for the full story...
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Posted by Administrator on Monday, February 07 @ 03:42:02 EST (1793 reads)
(Read More... | 3529 bytes more | Research | Score: 3)
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| Research: Statins useful against Rheumatoid Arthritis |
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The statin drugs continue to prove themselves effective against inflammatory diseases. After showing promise in Multiple Sclerosis treatments, researchers have now found that they seem to help those suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis-- an autoimmune disorder.
"Cholesterol-lowering drugs, already widely used to cut the risk of heart attack and tipped as a prevention for some cancers, may also help fight rheumatoid arthritis, scientists said on Friday.
Researchers from the Glasgow Royal Infirmary in Scotland found a small but statistically significant improvement in arthritis symptoms in patients given 40 mg of Pfizer's Lipitor daily in addition to standard arthritis medication.
The news underscores the reputation of cholesterol-lowering statins -- the world's top-selling drug class with global sales of $22 billion a year -- as potential wonder pills.
Already hailed for revolutionizing the management of heart disease, statins are also being studied in the fight against multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, glaucoma and osteoporosis, as well as in preventing various forms of cancer..."
Click "read more" for the full story...
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Posted by Administrator on Sunday, June 20 @ 06:00:54 EDT (1720 reads)
(Read More... | 4631 bytes more | Research | Score: 0)
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| Statins Show Promise in People with MS |
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A promising new study on statins in people with MS... while this one is small, a number of others are underway to figure out optimum dosing and side effects. The worrying factor surrounds the question of what happens if people with low cholesterol take statins continuously? But again, the days of only being able to treat MS with daily or weekly shots are numbered...
"LONDON (Reuters) - Cholesterol-lowering drugs, widely used to reduce the risk of heart attack, could also be effective in treating multiple sclerosis, according to new research published on Friday.
Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina have produced the first clinical evidence that statins can help in multiple sclerosis in an article in The Lancet medical journal.
A group of 30 patients with MS given 80 mg a day of Merck & Co Inc's Zocor, or simvastatin, had a 44 percent reduction in brain lesions after three months of treatment, their study showed."
Click "read more" for the full story...
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Posted by Administrator on Thursday, May 13 @ 19:50:10 EDT (3040 reads)
(Read More... | 5661 bytes more | Score: 3.9)
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| Research: Statins as Potential Therapeutic Agents in Multiple Sclerosis |
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This is just a preparatory study discussing statins as a potential MS therapy.
"3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase inhibitors (ie, statins) are oral cholesterol-lowering drugs...
Thus, independent of their cholesterol-reducing properties, statins have important pleiotropic biologic effects. Recent reports indicate that statins have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. Whether statins will be of clinical benefit for patients with multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system will only be known after they are evaluated in prospective randomized clinical trials."
Click "read more" for the full abstract...
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Posted by Administrator on Tuesday, May 04 @ 02:25:16 EDT (1575 reads)
(Read More... | 2480 bytes more | Research | Score: 0)
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