A statin a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

There is so much debate about statins possible role in curing so many diseases that it can be called as a Wonder Drug. While Statins are also known to have their own side effects too.

http://notw.typepad.com/hilary/2007/05/new_wonder_drug.html

By acting on the body's immune system, statins have been shown to soothe the painful inflammation caused by rheumatoid arthritis — and in a similar way they've been found to help prevent donor tissue rejection in kidney transplant patients.

In treating multiple sclerosis the drugs are being evaluated to see if they can stop immune cells moving from the bloodstream into the brain — which causes the relentless damage that leads to so much disability.

Even for cancer, doctors are hopeful. US researchers are using statins in harness with standard chemotherapy to see if they can stop breast cancer cells forming, growing or coming back. In other centres, statins are being assessed to treat cancer of the lymph gland system and lung cancer.

And asthma specialists in Canada have discovered an anti-inflammatory effect of statins on airways.

Versatile


So will statins really prove to be as versatile as eggs in the kitchen and aspirin in the pharmacy?

I think it's highly likely, although they certainly don't suit everybody— side-effects can include muscle pain and headaches. You also have to take them daily for life.

But millions already do. You can even buy a low dose of one type, simvastatin, over the counter.

Perhaps in future it will be a case of "a statin a day keeps the doctor away"