Spierpijn,
statines en vitamine D*
Uit een studie onder ruim 600 gebruikers van cholesterol verlagende
medicijnen, de statines lijkt het weer eens dat deze medicijnen de aanmaak van
vitamine D indirect kunnen verhinderen. Cholesterol is een belangrijke precursor in de aanmaak van vitamine D in het lichaam. Veel van de deelnemers aan de studie hadden
spierpijn en 64% daarvan bleek ook een duidelijk tekort te hebben aan vitamine D, bloedwaarden van 20 ng/ml. Door deze personen 12 weken lang wekelijks 1.250 mcg toe te dienen bleek 92% van hen geen spierpijn meer te hebben en hadden zij bloedwaarden vitamine D bereikt van gemiddeld 48 ng/ml. Volgens de onderzoekers zou door het gebruik van statines ook de bloedwaarden van het belangrijke
co-enzym Q10 duidelijk doen afnemen.
Do Statin Drugs Cause Vitamin D Deficiency?
Low levels can cause muscle pain and weakness.
There’s new speculation that the very low cholesterol levels that can be attained with cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may contribute to vitamin D deficiency. That deficiency, in turn, seems to play a role in the muscle pain and weakness some people develop while taking statin drugs.
The connection? For one thing, our most important hormones depend upon adequate reserves of cholesterol for their production. And nowhere is this more important than as the precursor substance for the synthesis of vitamin D. The first step in the body’s production of vitamin D is the exposure of cholesterol in the skin to sunlight. People with low cholesterol also have trouble digesting and absorbing fats, including fat soluble vitamins like D, so they may need to get more of these vitamins.
Vitamin D is necessary for numerous biochemical processes, including mineral metabolism. Deficiency has been linked to muscle weakness and pain in people of all ages. Recently, researchers looked at the relationship between vitamin D levels and muscle pain in more than 600 people taking statin drugs. The found that, in those with muscle pain, blood vitamin D levels were generally lower and that more people — 64% — had low vitamin D levels, compared to people without muscle pain
What’s more, when the people with muscle pain and low vitamin D levels were treated with vitamin D at a dose of 50,000 IU each week for 12 weeks, the muscle pain disappeared in more than 92% of people. (The treatment raised vitamin D levels from an average of about 20 ng/ml to an average of 48 ng/ml. Experts consider 30 to 60 ng/ml as the preferred range.) (Ahmed, W et al. Transl Res. 2009;153(1):11-6.)
Statin drugs are known to cause muscle pain and weakness by depleting CoQ10, which is a crucial component of energy metabolism in cells. Now, it seems, the pain and weakness may be compounded by vitamin D deficiency. It’s important to get your levels checked and make sure you are getting enough vitamin D, especially if you take statin drugs and CoQ10 and still have muscle
problems. (Maart 2010)
