New dangers of statin drugs discovered: Serious muscle damage

2023-06-14 18:24:30

Las statins are some medicines very popular used against cholesterolbut they have powerful side effects. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recently warned of two new serious adverse effects related to statins: myasthenia gravis y ocular myasthenia.

What are statins used for?

Statins are one drug family belonging to the group of lipid-lowering agents, that is, drugs that work by lowering the level of lipids in our bloodstream. It includes seven active ingredients: atorvastatin, simvastatin, rosuvastatin, pitavastatin, pravastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin.

In Spain they are used above all the atorvastatin and the simvastatin.

• They are the pharmacological treatment of choice to lower cholesterol levels in patients with a high cardiovascular risk. That is, people with a high probability of suffering a cardiovascular event (heart attackstroke, angina pectoris, aortic aneurysm, etc.) in the next 10 years.
• They are also used in people who have already had one of these events and have what is called established cardiovascular disease.

Powerful Side Effects

Las statinsLike all medical treatments, they present a series of adverse effects. In addition, they can interact with other medications which, in turn, may increase the chance of experiencing an adverse effect.

Los most common side effects of the statins known up to now are very broad: elevated liver enzymes (transaminases), gastrointestinal disturbances (abdominal pain, constipation, nausea, diarrhea, etc.) and muscle damage.

• Possible muscle damage can go to extreme muscle damage with cell death and accompanied by acute renal failurewhat is known as rhabdomyolysis (read this case that got the success in the courts of Justice before Bayer and whom I met in person).
• This is a rare side effectwhich can affect between 0.1% and 0.01% of patients, but there are other medicines with which statins interact and increase the possibility of suffering this serious adverse effect: cyclosporine which is an immunosuppressant, certain antibioticsantifungals of the azole family, certain antivirals for HIV and hepatitis C, some heart or colchicinewhich is an antigout.
• It is important that those who take statins notify their doctor if they experience muscle pain or weakness so that he or she can assess the need for an blood test and establish the degree of seriousness of muscle damage.

These side effects usually go away with discontinuation of treatment for a few weeks.

New adverse effects

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recently published new recommendations addressed to all the companies that own the marketing of statin drugs to modify the prospectuses of these drugs and incorporate two new possible adverse effects: myasthenia gravis y ocular myasthenia.

As published by the EMA, after having reviewed all the available evidence, its pharmacovigilance committee has verified that cases of new onset or worsening of myasthenia gravis or ocular myasthenia had been reported in patients taking statins.

Myasthenia gravis and ocular myasthenia are a very particular type of muscular weakness originated by his own immune system It attacks neuromuscular receptors, worsens with activity, and improves with rest.

• Myasthenia gravis is characterized by generalized muscle weakness that can affect the muscles used to breathe.
• Ocular myasthenia can affect the muscles of both the eyelids and the eyeball.

The reported cases are, for now, few and it has not been possible to calculate the frequency of appearance of these adverse effects, but from now on in the statins package insert information about these effects and the warning will be included:

See your doctor if you have weakness in your arms or legs that worsens after periods of activity, double vision or drooping eyelids, difficulty swallowing, or difficulty breathing.”

If you or a family member or acquaintance has suffered damage Contact us to review your case.

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