Even problems that seem more complex and difficult to overcome are reduced when viewed from a distance. Depression, for example, one of the most difficult evils to understand and eradicate, takes on other forms if thought of as a consequence of our lifestyle. In scientific literature, there are several theories linking diseases of the mind and diseases of the body. Many of these connect excessive levels of bad cholesterol, therefore a high cardiovascular risk, to the loss of the will to live. But if the problems are connected in the bad, they are also connected in the good.
A recent research carried out at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center revealed that statins positively affect the well-being of our mind. Many are unaware that this common heart drug fights depression as well as bad cholesterol, but the discovery can literally revolutionize psychological therapies. Through this medicine, doctors hope to break the circle that connects black humor and cardiovascular disorders.
Many are unaware that this common heart drug fights depression as well as bad cholesterol
Statins are inhibitors that reduce the body’s synthesis of bad cholesterol. They have an anti-inflammatory action, which, according to the researchers, can play a fundamental role in the fight against depression. In fact, many corroborated theories on depression highlight its inflammatory and autoimmune component. Not surprisingly, the statistics highlight the fact that many depressed people suffer from inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as rhinitis, rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis. With this in mind, the research wanted to show how statins can prevent or fight depression by modulating inflammatory and autoimmune processes. The results seem to prove you right. After following a thousand patients with cardiovascular diseases, people who regularly took statins were 38% less sick than others.
Can a cholesterol medicine really affect our mood?
So, can we say that taking statins is an effective remedy for depression? Not so fast. To dampen the enthusiasm is the same doctor who led the research, Mary A. Whooly. According to Whooly, the medicine is not yet certain of the cause-and-effect link between statins and depression. The authoritative words of Giulio Perugi, professor of psychiatric pharmacotherapy at the University of Pisa, also preach caution. Perugi warns about the contraindications of statins, which would lead to an increase in muscle problems and aggression. However, Perugi himself does not rule out that the anti-inflammatory effect of statins could play a key role in psychiatric prevention. The research, if it does not arrive at an unambiguous conclusion, still gives us hope.
Deepening
Few people know that this common drug in addition to lowering blood sugar helps to lose weight quickly