Saturday 10 May 2008

statins - atrogen-1

A team from Harvard Medical School says it has cracked the mystery behind statins' tendency to cause muscle damage in some patients
Statins basically are an unnatural way of lowering cholesterol level, and in the new study researchers found that statins activate a gene signal in muscles called atrogen-1. When this gene activates, it targets key muscle proteins for destruction. The activation of this gene drives the process of muscle atrophy and muscle wasting. It is induced in cardiac muscle in failing hearts. Why on earth would any person want this gene activated by a drug?

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