Does Europe use statins?
Statins lower blood cholesterol concentration and reduce the relative risk of coronary events by about 30% in both primary and secondary prevention. Statins are widely and increasingly used in most European countries, although data on the extent of this are not generally available.
What is the pleiotropic effect?
Pleiotropic effects of a drug are actions other than those for which the agent was specifically developed. These effects may be related or unrelated to the primary mechanism of action of the drug, and they are usually unanticipated.
What is the additional beneficial effect of statins aside from their lipid lowering capacity?
These additional properties include beneficial effects on endothelial function and blood flow, decreasing LDL-C oxidation, enhancing the stability of atherosclerotic plaques, inhibiting vascular smooth muscle proliferation and platelet aggregation, and reducing vascular inflammation (Table 1).
Why statins should not be used?
Very rarely, statins can cause life-threatening muscle damage called rhabdomyolysis (rab-doe-my-OL-ih-sis). Rhabdomyolysis can cause severe muscle pain, liver damage, kidney failure and death. The risk of very serious side effects is extremely low, and calculated in a few cases per million people taking statins.
How do statins work UK?
How do statins work? Statins work by slowing down the production of LDL-cholesterol in the liver, where it’s made. Because the liver isn’t making so much cholesterol, it then takes cholesterol out of your blood to make bile with, so your blood cholesterol levels fall.
What do Europeans take for high cholesterol?
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended authorising Repatha (evolocumab) as treatment to lower high levels of cholesterol in the blood of people who are unable to control their cholesterol despite taking optimal doses of statins or who cannot take statins. It should be used in addition to a healthy diet.
What is pleiotropic effect of statins?
Pleiotropic effects of statins include improvement of endothelial dysfunction, increased nitric oxide bioavailability, antioxidant properties, inhibition of inflammatory responses, and stabilization of atherosclerotic plaques.
What is pleiotropy with example?
In genetics, Pleiotropy is defined as the expression of multiple traits by a single gene. Pleiotropy is derived from a Greek word meaning more ways. A simple example of a Pleiotropy is phenylketonuria is a disease. It is a genetic disorder caused by the low metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine in the body cells.
What are the pleiotropic effects of statin?
Why Statin drugs are used for hyperlipidemia?
Statins also are effective in reducing triglyceride levels in patients with hypertriglyceridemia. Statins lower LDL levels by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase activity leading to decreases in hepatic cholesterol content resulting in an up-regulation of hepatic LDL receptors, which increases the clearance of LDL.
Are statins bad for you UK?
The risks, as with all medicines, include possible side effects. Serious side effects are rare and can be reversed if you stop taking the statin. One risk is muscle pain, ranging from mild pain to a severe muscular problem called rhabdomyolysis. Like all medicines, statins can interact with other drugs.
What are statins GCSE?
Statins are drugs that help to lower cholesterol in the blood. They do this by lowering its production in the liver . Statins are prescribed for people with heart disease or who have a high risk of developing it.
