Research regarding Parkinson’s Disease has long been
controversial due to many unconventional methods being utilised in the hope of
finding a cure and understanding its development. However, we were recently
made aware of a study that looked at the use of statins and the development of
Parkinson’s Disease that truly intrigued us.
The study, which was published in Neurology, included a
total of 43 810 individuals in Taiwan who did not have Parkinson’s Disease (PD)
but were treated with statins. As the national health insurance in Taiwan
requires that patients do not get statins once the patients’ cholesterol levels
are in line with the treatment goal, the researchers were able to consider
potential effects of discontinuing statins, such as the risk of PD. The key
findings indicated that patients who continued to take fat-soluble statins had
a decreased risk of developing PD in contrast to patients who had ceased taking
statins, or were taking water-soluble statins. Individuals in the group who
ceased administering fat-soluble statins appeared to have a 58% greater
likelihood of developing PD than those who stayed on the fat-soluble statins.
This effect remained after the researchers had taken several other co-morbidities
into account.
For those interested in the development of PD, the study
certainly makes for interesting reading when read in conjunction with the
academic discussions it has prompted with regards to the potential underlying
mechanisms that could have played a role in the findings.
The value from the study comes in several forms. From the
fact that they used a substantial national sample to the distinguishing of
fat-soluble and water-soluble statins, it is easy to see why so many
discussions have followed.
As with any research, there are areas that could have been
done better. For instance, there is missing information with regards to the
level of cholesterol the participants had, as well as a lack of differentiation
of caffeine and nicotine intake. Consequently, it cannot be disentangled
whether the fat-soluble statins had a neuro-protective effect or whether there
was an indirect effect from changes in cholesterol.
This study is very interesting and confirms results in an earlier study on mice. Here is the earlier study that was published a few years ago.