Statins can Now Help Treat Lung Disease Too

Individuals suffering with severe lung disease can now be treated effectively by taking statins that aid in lowering cholesterol levels.

Statins, usually help in treating cardiovascular diseases. But, a new study shows that they can also help treat people suffering with severe lung disease, as they lower cholesterol levels.

In Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (PAP), //air sacs in the lungs clog up with a thick substance called surfactant. The findings, led by Bruce Trapnell, from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital in the US, showed that the main culprit was cholesterol.

Can Cholesterol-lowering Statins Ease Deadly Heart Condition in Rare Neuromuscular Disease?
In cell models that mimicked liver cells of patients with the rare disease Friedreich's ataxia (FA), a widely used cholesterol-lowering drug was found to increase a precursor of HDL (high-density lipoprotein), the ‘good cholesterol,’ in preclinical studies.

TOP INSIGHT

Statins can not only treat cardiovascular disease, but also severe lung disease, as they help in lowering cholesterol levels.

PAP has been linked to disruption of cell regulation by a molecule called granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF).

GM-CSF, is crucial for the development of fully mature macrophage cells in the lungs, which are needed to clear away surfactant (a substance important to lung function), so that people can breathe.

In the study of PAP patients and mouse models of the disease, the researchers uncovered a more precise reason that disruption of cell regulation by GM-CSF triggers PAP.

Statins can Cut Arthritis Risk by Half: Study
A daily dose of cholesterol-lowering drug statins has been shown to more than halve the chances of getting arthritis, according to a major study.

It was because, cell dysregulation reduced the ability of macrophages to process and clear out cholesterol, allowing its levels to build up.

This contributed to the accumulation of surfactant that caused PAP and hindered breathing, according to study authors.

Statins Effective in Treating Severe Lung Disease: Study
Statin drugs could serve as an alternative treatment option to treat severe lung diseases caused by surfactant clog, finds a new study.

This improved respiratory function in the adult patients and in the laboratory models. Those tests were the result of earlier experiments on mouse pulmonary macrophages and cells donated from patients.

Cholesterol Reducing Statins Can Reduce Death Risk By Cholangitis
Statins have shown to reduce mortality risk in patients who have had primary sclerosing cholangitis, who are at risk of end-stage liver disease, liver transplant, liver cancer, variceal bleeding, finds a new study.

Source-IANS