Muscle Characteristics Associated With Statin Therapy

Statins have been proven to reduce cardiovascular events and mortality in large clinical
trials but remain underutilized partly due to the associated myopathy. Severe reactions
manifested as rhabdomyolysis are rare but myalgia is commonly noted in clinical practice.
The pathophysiology of these events remains obscure. Previous studies suggest that statins
block the downstream products (such as cellular signaling molecules) of the mevalonate
pathway needed for normal muscle function. Other studies show that statins are associated
with gene expressions involved in muscle damage such as atrogin-1. We will quantify these
entities pre and post statin therapy to better understand these reactions.