Cholesterol drug causes muscle disease

01 July 1997

The cholesterol lowering drug simvastatin may cause the development of the muscular disorder poly myositis in some patients.

A report in the BMJ details the case of a 42 year old man being given treatment after a heart attack. When simvastatin was added to his therapeutic regime he developed the severe inflammation and muscle weakness common to polymyositis.

His symptoms only went into remission after corticosteroid therapy (BMJ, 1997, 349: 1600-1).

For more information on cholesterol see WDDTY vol 3 nos 1 and 12 and vol 5 no 9.

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