More than 200 million people around the world take medicines called statins. These medicines lower cholesterol, a type of fat in the blood. They help prevent heart attacks and strokes. But some people have muscle pain, weakness, or feel very tired. A small number have serious muscle damage. This can cause their kidneys to stop working. Some people stop taking statins because of muscle problems. They can then lose important protection for their hearts.
Scientists at the University of British Columbia and the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied a statin called atorvastatin. They used a special method to make very detailed pictures of tiny parts inside muscle cells. They studied a protein, a small part of a cell. It works like a gate. It controls the movement of calcium inside muscle cells. Calcium helps muscles move. Three tiny pieces of the medicine can attach to this gate. The first helps it open. The next two keep it open. Calcium then leaks into other parts of the cell and can hurt the muscles. Other statins may act in a similar way.
The finding could help scientists make safer statins. These medicines could still lower cholesterol but cause fewer muscle problems. Scientists need to do more work before they can develop new treatments.
