Statins and muscle damage

This post contains a summary of a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine 2002 Oct 1;137(7):581-5



Books:

Study title and authors:

Statin-associated myopathy with normal creatine kinase levels.

Phillips PS, Haas RH, Bannykh S, Hathaway S, Gray NL, Kimura BJ, Vladutiu GD, England JD; Scripps Mercy Clinical Research Center.

Interventional Cardiology, Scripps Mercy Hospital and University of California, San Diego, Medical Center, San Diego, California 92103, USA. inquire@impostertrial.com

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12353945

Muscle damage is associated with high creatine kinase levels.  

This study investigated if statins cause muscle damage despite patients having normal creatine kinase levels. The study included four patients with muscle symptoms that developed during statin therapy and reversed during placebo use. The study measured:
(i) Patients' ability to identify blinded statin therapy from placebo.
(ii) Muscle strength and functional capacity.

The study found:
(a) All four patients repeatedly distinguished blinded statin therapy from placebo.
(b) Strength testing confirmed muscle weakness during statin therapy that reversed during placebo use.
(c) Muscle biopsies showed evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction which reversed in the three patients who had repeated biopsy when they were not receiving statins.
(d) Creatine kinase levels were normal in all four patients despite the presence of significant muscle damage.

Statins were found to cause muscle damage in patients despite normal creatine kinase levels.

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