Statins and Arthritis
Cholesterol Drugs’ Bonus Benefits
Arthritis drugs likely are not the only type of medication in your bathroom cabinet. You also may take medicine to help you manage symptoms or conditions that sometimes accompany arthritis – antidepressants to improve mood and quality of sleep, sleep aids to help you get a good night’s rest or statins to help lower cholesterol, for example.
Statins are an essential part of an overall health plan for many people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), because the No. 1 cause of death for people with RA is cardiovascular disease. In fact, data from a 2006 study in the Journal of Rheumatology suggested that RA should be considered an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and that all people with RA should be screened regularly for high cholesterol. When cholesterol builds up on artery walls, the arteries become narrow, and that can lead to heart attack or stroke.
Statins often are prescribed for people at risk of cardiovascular disease because they are effective, have few side effects and even offer a few benefits. They block a liver enzyme that helps make cholesterol, and also may help your body reabsorb cholesterol that already has built up in your arteries. The statin drugs include atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin (Lescol), lovastatin (Mevacor), pravastatin (Pravachol), rosuvastatin calcium (Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor).
Scientists are finding statins also may reduce the risk of other conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, colon cancer and smoking-related lung damage. And that’s not all. The anti-inflammatory properties of statins may be beneficial for RA, too. A 2006 study by researchers in Japan found that Lescol killed synovial cells in test tubes. In RA, synovial cells lining the joint reproduce abnormally, causing inflammation. Over time, abnormal synovial cells destroy cartilage and bone. Killing synovial cells could stop or slow that process.
Another study showed that RA patients who received 40 milligrams (mg) daily of Lipitor had less swelling than those who received placebo. More studies would be needed to confirm the results, so doctors aren’t planning to prescribe statins for RA just yet.
Even though today’s statins may not prove ideal for treating RA, they provide important benefits to people with RA who also have high cholesterol.
