Fears that life-saving statins often cause severe side-effects have been allayed by a type of study that may one day help doctors tailor treatments to every patient.
Last year, The National told how many patients with heart disease stopped taking the medication, citing side-effects they insisted were triggered by the drugs that lower cholesterol.
Key research was undertaken to examine those concerns and find if patients were putting themselves at undue risk by halting their use of the drug.
What do statins do?
Introduced by pharmaceutical companies in the late 1980s, statins cut levels of the “bad” form of cholesterol that has been linked to cardiovascular disease. Many studies have shown that statins cut the risk of heart attacks and stroke by around 30 per cent. This has led to statins being one of the most widely-prescribed of all drugs, taken by millions daily.
However, over recent years statins have been dogged by reports of side-effects so severe that many patients simply stop taking the drugs, despite the risks involved.
What are the side-effects?
Many patients report experiencing increased muscle pain and weakness after being prescribed statins. Doctors accept that statins can cause a breakdown of muscle tissue, but studies suggest this is extremely rare, affecting around one patient in 10,000.
This has led to the suspicion that most reports of side-effects are “all in the mind”. Critics point out, however, that patients likely to suffer side-effects are usually barred from entering clinical trials. This would give a misleadingly low figure for the true prevalence of side-effects. Some studies have also been funded by the pharmaceutical industry, raising questions about impartiality.
What has the new study revealed ?
Now an independent team of researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, has focused solely on patients reporting side-effects so severe they have either stopped or are about to stop taking statins.
To find out if the drugs were to blame, more than 150 such patients were given a supply of pills – but were not told whether the pills were a real statin or a useless placebo. Over the course of eight weeks, the patients had to record their level of muscle discomfort. They then received a fresh supply of pills, again without knowing if they were a real statin or placebos, and recorded their new level of discomfort.
After a year, the researchers – who were also unaware of which patients got what – analysed the results. Published in the current issue of the British Medical Journal they showed no evidence that taking the statin increased the level of muscle pain. If anything, there was a hint the statin produced a slight reduction in symptoms.
When told of the outcome, around two-thirds of the patients changed their minds about the link with statins, and reported they had begun taking them again.
Are the symptoms “all in the mind?”
The researchers stress the results do not mean that patients are imagining their pain. Instead, they support the view that, whatever the true cause of the pain, its intensity is not affected by taking statins. Instead, the pain may fluctuate naturally, and patients may incorrectly associate this with the statin.
Recent research suggests a potential role for the so-called nocebo effect – the “evil twin” of the better-known placebo effect – where patients convince themselves a drug they have begun taking is making them feel worse.
In a study reported in The National, patients reported their pain levels doubled once they began taking a pill – regardless of whether it was a real statin or an inert substitute. Again, this does not mean the pain is imaginary. Studies have shown that the nocebo effect can activate areas of the brain linked to the experience of real symptoms.
Could this type of study resolve other medical mysteries?
Most clinical trials involve large numbers of patients, half of whom are given a new treatment while the others get a placebo. But such studies cast little light on the key question facing family doctors: which is the best treatment for my patient ?
Both the new study and the nocebo trial take a radically different approach. Known as N-of-1 studies, they focus on the response of individuals, rather than some fictional “average patient”. In principle, such N-of-1 studies could be used by family doctors to tailor some forms of treatments to individual patients.
However, such studies are currently regarded as experiments by many regulatory bodies, and thus have to be approved by independent experts and ethical committees. That may one day change, however.
What should you do if you have side-effects from statins?
You should talk to your doctor before discontinuing any prescription drug – including statins. This may lead to a lower dose or different form of statin being prescribed. Simply stopping may put you at unnecessary additional risk of life-threatening events like strokes or heart attacks.
Robert Matthews is Visiting Professor of Science at Aston University, Birmingham, UK
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday Benevento v Atalanta (2pm), Genoa v Bologna (5pm), AC Milan v Torino (7.45pm)
Sunday Roma v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Udinese v Napoli, Hellas Verona v Crotone, Parma v Lazio (2pm), Fiorentina v Cagliari (9pm), Juventus v Sassuolo (11.45pm)
Monday Spezia v Sampdoria (11.45pm)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Habib El Qalb
Assi Al Hallani
(Rotana)
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
More from Aya Iskandarani
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Mercedes V250 Avantgarde specs
Engine: 2.0-litre in-line four-cylinder turbo
Gearbox: 7-speed automatic
Power: 211hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.0 l/100 km
Price: Dh235,000
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
RESULTS
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000, 2,400m
Winner: Recordman, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000, 2,200m
Winner: AF Taraha, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000, 1,400m
Winner: Dhafra, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000, 1,400m
Winner: Maqam, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000, 1,600m
Winner: AF Momtaz, Fernando Jara, Musabah Al Muhairi
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000, 1,600m
Winner: Optimizm, Patrick Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
Pakistan T20 series squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shahzad, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammed Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Amir Yamin, Mohammed Amir (subject to fitness clearance), Rumman Raees, Usman Shinwari, Umar Amin
The Lost Letters of William Woolf
Helen Cullen, Graydon House
Read more about the coronavirus
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SCE%20Studio%20Cambridge%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%2C%20PlayStation%204%20and%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
