Statins for atherosclerosis: the fight against cholesterol is like the situation described in the proverb “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”

An article about how the desire of official medicine to reduce blood cholesterol with statins is like “fighting” windmills and sometimes with bad consequences.

Statins began to be used more than 40 years ago. At one time, this was considered a kind of breakthrough in the treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis. The properties of these drugs speak in favor of this.
Statins do indeed have qualities that could be regarded as useful.

Let’s list them:

1. Slowing the progression of atherosclerosis.
2. Keeping plaques in a stable state.
3. Reducing inflammation in the vascular wall.
4. Reducing blood cholesterol levels.
5. Reducing triglyceride levels.
6. Reducing the levels of so-called “bad” cholesterol carriers in the blood (low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL).

It would seem that everything is fine: remains to live and rejoice!

For a better understanding of the essence of the question stated in the article, let’s look at how cholesterol is formed. The presentation will be schematic and abbreviated (we will only give the most important stages here, so as not to bother you, dear reader, with abstruse things).

Stage 1: synthesis of mevalonic acid. This chain consists of a series of reactions, where the initial substrate is Acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-coA). Pay attention to the following reaction in this stage: this is the formation of mevalonic acid from hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) using hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase. (HMG-CoA reductase). This will be useful to us later.

Stage 2: synthesis of isopentenyl diphosphate. There are also a lot of reactions here. We will not consider them.

Stage 3: synthesis of squalene.

Stage 4: synthesis of cholesterol. Here, squalene is cycled with subsequent formation of cholesterol.

Also from squalene (the substance obtained in stage 3, see diagram), such important substances as ubiquinone (another name for coenzyme Q-10) and dolichol are synthesized.

By the way, cholesterol is mainly synthesized in the liver.

And how do statins work?
It’s very simple.

Let’s look again at our simplified scheme of cholesterol synthesis in stages. Here, look at stage 1. There is such a reaction: the formation of mevalonic acid from hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme-A (HMG-CoA) using the enzyme hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase. (HMG-CoA reductase). So, statins suppress this very enzyme (HMG-CoA reductase). That is, ultimately, liver cells cannot synthesize mevalonic acid. Hence, it is logical that the ability to synthesize cholesterol is also lost. At the same time, the formation of previously mentioned substances such as ubiquinone and dolichol is suppressed.

One can ask the question: what’s bad about the fact that we reduce cholesterol synthesis. This is what statins are created for. What do you think, dear reader, why did nature create us the way we are? Is it really true that our internal physiological and biochemical processes are a mistake of nature, and we, humans, should fix all this? I believe that nature is much wiser than us.

Let’s look at the functions that cholesterol performs in the body.

• regulation of the permeability of the body’s cell membranes.
• building material for cell membranes,
• participation in the development of brain nerve cells that produce dopamine,
• participation in the growth of nerve processes,
• participation in the formation of the myelin sheath of nerve processes,
• synthesis of steroid hormones, and these are: sex and adrenal hormones,
• synthesis of vitamin D,
• synthesis of bile acids.

That’s what cholesterol does in the body. Doesn’t it all sound impressive?

Let’s remember such substances as: ubiquinone and dolichol, which are synthesized through mevalonic acid. Here’s what they do in the body.

Ubiquinone functions:

• energy production, in particular, ATP.
• antioxidant activity.
• stabilization of cell membranes.
• participation in the metabolism of a number of substances (some fats and carbohydrates).

Dolichol functions:

• participation in the synthesis of glycoproteins. The greatest role here is the formation of cellular receptors on the cell membrane.
• modulation of cellular processes. The most important of them are cell proliferation and differentiation.
• protection of cell membranes,
• antioxidant activity.
• tissue regeneration.

As you can see, both ubiquinone and dolichol perform important functions in the body.

I believe that, dear reader, you will easily agree that if you suppress a process that is important to the body, this will lead to negative consequences one way or another.

Let’s list the side effects that have occurred in clinical studies and medical practice during using statins:

• constipation,
• diarrhea,
• nausea,
• headache,
• muscle pain,
• dizziness,
• memory loss,
• decreased cognitive abilities,
• muscle weakness,
• general weakness.

Taking statins can also cause pathologies in organs and systems.

• kidney pathology,
• pathology in the nerve trunks (neuropathy),
• liver pathology,
• pathology in the organs of the gastrointestinal tract.

As you can see, taking statins does not look like some kind of child’s play – everything is serious there.

All people are different, which means they will react differently to taking statins. In any case, taking statins is like playing “Russian roulette”. It is quite possible that the strength of the negative effects of statins may exceed the positive effects.

Postscript: all statements in this article are confirmed by a number of clinical studies and medical practice, which you can read about on the Internet.

Read about the relationship between cholesterol and atherosclerosis here.

Be healthy!