HMG-CoA what?

Real quick: Aging is due to the loss of homeostasis, which leads to a change in the biochemical composition of tissues. Aging also increases the susceptibility of diseases. One "disease" that is very common in the older population is high cholesterol.

The role of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.

High cholesterol is treated by HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. That is a really long name; what does that even mean? HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors are the more scientific name for Statins.

Well cholesterol is a white substance that has potential to stick to the inside of blood vessels, causing a build up and could result in a heart diseases or a stroke. The HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors work to slow down the production of cholesterol particles. How could something that prevents high cholesterol be a bad thing?

As previously discussed, the average person over the age of 55 is taking a minimum of 6.5 medications a day. This comes into play when one of the drugs being taken is a statin. Statins have many side effects like the typical nausea, headache, vomiting, and so on, but the two most serious side effects of statins are liver failure and rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdo-what? Rhabdomyolysis is a side effect that results in damage to muscles and can progress to loss of muscle cells, kidney failure, and even death. Rhabdomyolysis is most commonly seen in patients that are on numerous drugs along with their statin.


That being said, this all relates back to how taking numerous prescription drugs can be very harmful.


If this interests you, check out either medicinenet.com or the Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research within the Hindawi Research Corporation.