Research Shows Statins Protect More Than Your Heart
Statins have been given a bad rap in the past, mostly due to possible, but rare, serious side effects like muscle inflammation, diabetes, and liver disease. But lately, research is unvieling some very positive and unexpected 'side effects' of statin use...
Though a direct cause and effect relationship was not tested in this study, Canadian researchers have shown a highly correlative relationship between use of statins and a decreased rate of mortality from prostate cancer. Following 12,000 British men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1998 and 2009, Laurent Azoulay, from Jewish General Hospital and McGill University in Montreal, and his team tracked the men through 2012. Of the 12,000 men, 3,500 died by the end of 2012, of whom almost 1,800 of died of complications of prostate cancer.
Looking at the survivors, researchers found a high proportion of statin users (common statins are Lipitor, Zocor, and Crestor) and theorized, based on previous experiments as well, that statin use was, at least partially responsible, especially among men who began taking statins before they were diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The team also pointed out that in recent experimental studies, statin use has been associated with a lower risk of death from any disease.
Recent research also indicates that statin drug use may lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
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