Why statins cause muscle pain

Muscle pains are one of the most common side effects that people report when they are taking cholesterol-lowering statins—and now researchers have figured out why.

The drugs jam open a critical muscle protein, flooding cells with calcium, which causes muscle pains and weakness, and, in extreme cases, kidney failure.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia used advanced imaging method to see proteins in near-atomic detail, and they observed how statins interact with a key muscle protein known as the ryanodine receptor (RyR1).

This protein regulates the flow of calcium inside muscle cells, acting as a gate that opens only when muscles need to contract. The researchers found that when statins bind to RyR1, they force the channel into an open position, which causes calcium to leak continuously, and this can be toxic to muscle tissue.

Although the research focused on atorvastatin, one of the most commonly prescribed statins, the researchers said they would expect to see the same mechanism in any statin they tested.

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