Walking or standing still with statins

12 July 2018

Statins (lipid-lowering drugs) are among the most widely prescribed medications, because they markedly reduce the incidence of major cardiovascular events by lowering LDL-cholesterol. However, muscle symptoms such as fatigue, myalgia, cramps, stiffness and tenderness are expected to occur in 15-20% of statin users, which may lead to nonadherence to statin treatment. Multiple studies show that statins are linked to mitochondrial disturbances, which may be the cause of the muscle symptoms.

This year the research during the Four Days Marches of Maria Hopman and her team, which takes place for the 12th year now,  focuses on statin users who walk the Nijmegen marches. The Four Days Marches are an unique setting to examine the effects of intense exercise on muscle functioning. One hundred participants are included in this study to gain more insight into the influence of statins on muscle performance. Statin users with muscle complaints will be compared to statin users without complaints and non-statin users. Prior and during the Four Days Marches extensive measurements are performed to assess muscle function, muscle damage, mitochondrial function, pain and fatigue.

More information:  www.vierdaagseonderzoek.nl

Maria Hopman is member of research theme Mitochondrial diseases.