The best way to keep bad cholesterol at bay is to follow the two ancient rules: healthy diet and active life. In cases where the levels of bad cholesterol are too high, however, we can also resort to the use of some drugs (under medical advice). Among the most used drugs to keep cholesterol at bay, consequently reducing cardiovascular risks (stroke and heart attack), there are statins. Statins are the anti-cholesterol drugs par excellence. But recent research would open up new life for this common cholesterol-lowering drug that would prevent Parkinson’s as well as stroke and heart attack. The study, carried out by some Taiwanese researchers and published in Neurology, also aroused the interest of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità. According to the data collected by the scholars, a specific type of statin could protect the brain from the threat of Parkinson’s.
New life for this common cholesterol drug that would prevent Parkinson’s as well as stroke and heart attack
As reported by the National Institute of Health, statins are the drug of choice for controlling cholesterol by reducing the risk of stroke and heart attack. In addition to the cardiovascular risk, however, statins could also protect our brain, in particular from Parkinson’s. To say it is a research that took a sample of 44,000 patients. All patients in the sample were taking statins, particularly fat-soluble statins such as Simvastatin and Atorvastatin.
The researchers noted that patients who stopped taking the cholesterol drug during monitoring also developed an increased risk of Parkinson’s. The risk, on the other hand, would have remained much more controlled in those patients who continued to take the anti-cholesterol drug. The researchers then explained why fat-soluble statins could protect the brain from Parkinson’s, as well as our cardiovascular health.
Can a heart drug also work for the brain?
According to what was stated by researchers at the National Taiwan University, fat-soluble statins would be able to cross the barrier between blood and brain. However, the same quality does not belong to other types of statins, such as water-soluble ones (for example, Rosuvastatin and Pravastatin). Thanks to their permeability in the tissues of the brain, fat-soluble statins act as anti-inflammatories, positively affecting dopamine (a neurotransmitter that allows you to talk and walk).
The result the researchers have arrived at could be of great significance, envisaging a new life for this common anti-cholesterol drug. However, the study carried out is of an observational type, therefore we need the confirmation of further clinical tests.
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