Millions of people take statins to lower cholesterol and avoid heart attacks or strokes. Some of them, however, feel sore muscles, weakness, or trouble exercising, which can make them stop the medicine.
Why Statin Side Effects Matter
Muscle pain can cause people to lower the dose or quit statins completely. Scientists wanted to know why this happens and if the pain can be separated from the heart‑protecting benefits.
Studies estimate that 7‑29% of statin users notice muscle problems. The exact reason has been unclear until now.
Statins Can Harm Muscle Cells
Statins disturb the energy factories inside muscle cells. This disturbance triggers an immune reaction inside the cells, which then damages the tissue.
In lab tests with muscle cells and mice, blocking this immune response reduced most of the damage.
Link Between Immunity and Metabolism
Researchers found that when muscle cells change how they use energy, they also turn on their own immune defenses.
This shows a surprising connection between metabolism and the immune system, and it suggests we could protect muscles by targeting this immune pathway.
What This Means for Patients
The new pathway gives scientists several possible drug targets. Future medicines might stop the muscle pain while keeping the cholesterol‑lowering power of statins.
More work is needed before any new treatment is ready, but the discovery offers hope for safer statin use.
International Collaboration
The research involved teams from Canada, France, Australia, and the United Kingdom and was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.