Spacedoc Newsletter
September 15, 2009  
 
How Statins Cause Mitochondrial Mutations?
 
Dr GravelineI have reported in the past of the association of statin drug use with such alarming adverse responses as transient global amnesia, behavioral and emotional change, peripheral neuropathies, myopathies and neuromuscular degenerative condition resembling ALS.

As serious as these conditions are, they pale in significance when compared with the newly recognized effects of statin use on our mitochondria.
Many now believe the most serious side effect of statin drugs by far is their tendency to increase mitochondrial mutations thereby contributing to premature aging and the onset of chronic conditions commonly associated with the aging process.

This disastrous adverse response is the predictable consequence of CoQ10 and dolichol inhibition.

How Statins Cause Mitochondrial Mutations?

In the coming weeks I will have more on this new area of mitochondrial mutations. Here are links to some earlier articles I wrote on this subject:

Mitochondrial Mutations and Statins
 
Mitochondrial Damage from Oxidation & Added Effects from Statins

Duane Graveline MD MPH
Former USAF Flight Surgeon
Former NASA Astronaut
Retired Family Doctor  
  

 
Reviews of the Statin Damage Crisis by Dr Duane Graveline
 
Read the Reviews on Amazon of the Statin Damage Crisis

SDC coverThe Statin Damage Crisis looks at how statins work, the importance of cholesterol in the body, inflammation and atherosclerosis, anti-inflammatory alternatives to statins, serious side effects of statins, mitochondrial mutations and statins, and dietary supplements that may be of benefit to those taking statins or that were forced to stop taking a statin due to unpleasant or even disabling side effects.

So why is this a crisis? With regard to statin side effects, many doctors know only what was told to them 15 years ago, "Statins may cause a few aches and pains or liver irritation that goes away when the dose is lowered." That is all they know. Denying statin causality despite obvious links and often despite the drug company warnings on the package inserts have caused much grief.

The outmoded concept of looking at cholesterol numbers as a predictor of cardiovascular risk is increasingly being dismissed as studies point to cholesterol levels as being irrelevant to the process of atherosclerosis. Statin drugs apparently work not by cholesterol reduction but by anti-inflammation. Only recently has this been discovered.

Duane Graveline MD MPH
Former USAF Flight Surgeon
Former NASA Astronaut
Retired Family Doctor
  
Books by Dr Duane Graveline MD MPH
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"The Statin Damage Crisis" by Dr. Duane Graveline MD

BooksDr Graveline's third book on statins called "The Statin Damage Crisis" is now available.
 
Originally planned as a new edition to "Statin Drugs Side Effects," it has been released as a stand alone title so that the highly relevant material in "SDSE" will still be available.

Dr Graveline wrote the following introduction to this latest title:
 
Early on my NASA doctors told me my amnesia response to statins was nothing but a coincidence but I persevered to write my first book, "Lipitor, Thief of Memory" and now find that over 1,000 cases of amnesia and memory loss have been reported to the FDA, just from Lipitor alone.
 
Then I learned of statin damage to nerves and muscles and profound behavioral and personality changes, demanding I write a second book, "Statin Drugs Side Effects." Even this broadly encompassing book was insufficient to describe what I have learned more recently of the truly dark side of statins - their ability to alter the very fabric of our makeup.
 
I had long wondered why muscle and nerve damage seemed permanent and even progressive like my own ALS-like condition. Now I have found that the ultimate effect of statins on CoQ10 and dolichols is to damage the DNA of the mitochondrial life - force within our cells - mitochondrial mutation masquerading as premature old age. 
 
Duane Graveline MD MPH
Former USAF Flight Surgeon, Former NASA Astronaut, Retired Family Doctor 
 
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