{"id":292,"date":"2013-10-01T07:00:45","date_gmt":"2013-10-01T11:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chaneyhealth.com\/healthtips\/?p=292"},"modified":"2013-10-17T17:08:00","modified_gmt":"2013-10-17T21:08:00","slug":"statins-decrease-increase-risk-parkinsons-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chaneyhealth.com\/healthtips\/statins-decrease-increase-risk-parkinsons-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Statins Decrease Or Increase The Risk Of Parkinson\u2019s Disease?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Fine Print Behind The Misleading Headline<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Human<\/a><\/b>I hadn\u2019t paid much attention to the headlines saying \u201cStatin Use May Decrease Parkinson\u2019s Risk\u201d <\/b>until the other day when I happened to glance a couple of lines below the headline and spotted a statement saying \u201cStudy Shows That Discontinuation of Statin Therapy Increases Risk of Parkinson\u2019s\u201d.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b>I immediately said to myself \u201cThat\u2019s bizarre. There is a total disconnect between the headlines and the study<\/strong>.\u201d If you really wanted to determine whether statin use<\/strong> reduced the risk of Parkinson\u2019s<\/strong>, you would compare the incidence of Parkinson\u2019s disease in a group of statin<\/strong> users and a matched group who did not use statins.<\/p>\n

It turns out those studies have been done, and they were inconclusive<\/b> \u2013 some studies showed a slight increase in Parkinson\u2019s<\/b> in statin<\/b> users, some showed a slight decrease, and most showed no correlation between statin <\/b>use and Parkinson\u2019s.<\/p>\n

In that context, this study could equally well have been interpreted as suggesting that statin use increased the risk of Parkinson\u2019s<\/b>, but somehow none of the headlines mentioned that possibility.<\/p>\n

Are Both Possibilities Plausible?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b>Let\u2019s look at each possibility in detail. The reasoning is complex, but let me try to walk you through it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Could Statins Decrease The Risk Of Parkinson\u2019s<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b>Parkinson\u2019s is caused by the progressive degeneration of the brain neurons that produce a chemical messenger called dopamine<\/b> that controls muscle movement. However, the causes of nerve degeneration in Parkinson\u2019s patients are largely unknown.<\/p>\n

Genetics may play a small role. Environmental toxins may play a role. But most experts feel that Parkinson\u2019s patients produce an excess of free radicals, and it is the oxidative damage<\/b> caused by those free radicals that results in the loss of the ability of neurons to produce dopamine.<\/p>\n

But even that is not the whole answer. The brain is normally able to use coenzyme Q10<\/b>, which is very abundant in brain, and other antioxidants to destroy free radicals before they damage brain neurons. Somehow in Parkinson\u2019s patients free radical production and antioxidant production have gotten out of balance.<\/p>\n

Advocates of the theory that statins may decrease the risk of Parkinson\u2019s, point out that statins decrease oxidative damage<\/b>. So if a person was predisposed to developing Parkinson\u2019s and oxidative damage is a major cause of Parkinson\u2019s, it is theoretically possible that statins could slow the progression to Parkinson\u2019s while they were taking the drug. Of course, once they stopped taking the drug the oxidative damage to dopamine-producing neurons would resume and Parkinson\u2019s would eventually develop.<\/p>\n

In this model- Let’s call it Model A<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oxidative damage of dopamine-producing neurons was caused by some unspecified external agent.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Statins protected the neurons from oxidative damage while they were being used.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Once the statin drugs were discontinued oxidative damage resumed and the risk of developing Parkinson\u2019s increased.<\/p>\n

This is the model favored by the authors and repeated in all of the headlines you saw.<\/p>\n

Could Statins Increase The Risk Of Parkinson\u2019s?<\/b><\/p>\n

Statins also interfere with the synthesis of cholesterol<\/b> and coenzyme Q10<\/b>, and these are both absolutely essential for brain function. Let\u2019s start with cholesterol:<\/p>\n