{"id":364,"date":"2017-02-20T09:29:39","date_gmt":"2017-02-20T09:29:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seleniumfacts.com\/?p=364"},"modified":"2017-02-28T01:26:45","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T01:26:45","slug":"statin-medications-selenium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seleniumfacts.com\/index.php\/statin-medications-selenium","title":{"rendered":"Statin medications and selenium"},"content":{"rendered":"
Statin medications. What do we know? Yes, the statins are good at inhibiting the body’s own production of cholesterol. But the statins have the unintended side-effect of also inhibiting the body’s production of Coenzyme Q10 and of inhibiting the body’s ability to form selenoproteins. The inhibition of Coenzyme Q10 and selenoprotein production may lead to premature ageing and to\u00a0 degenerative diseases.
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Statin medications: good news and bad news?\u00a0 On the one hand, statin medications are effective at reducing cholesterol levels, and, are good, apparently, at reducing the number of deaths from heart attacks.\u00a0\u00a0 On the other hand, we have seen a very considerable rise in the number of cases of chronic heart failure \u2026 in the same period that statin medications have been prescribed.\u00a0 Drs. Okuyama and Langsjoen and their colleagues have explained the pharmacological mechanisms by which this medical paradox may be occurring [Okuyama].<\/strong><\/p>\n

Statins inhibit the body\u2019s production of Coenzyme Q10<\/strong>
\nOkay, I was aware of the evidence from well-designed studies linking the taking of statin medications to decreased plasma levels of Coenzyme Q10. \u00a0 Coenzyme Q10<\/a> is an important factor in cellular energy production and is an important lipid-soluble antioxidant [Folkers, Littarru, McMurray].\u00a0 And I knew that the energy-deprived heart is a failing heart [Folkers, Molyneux, Mortensen].\u00a0 So, I knew that anyone taking a statin medication needs to talk to his or her cardiologist about taking a good Coenzyme Q10 supplement.<\/p>\n

Statins also inhibit the body\u2019s production of selenoproteins<\/strong>
\nBut Drs. Okuyama and Langsjoen go further in their explanation of the unintended consequences of taking a statin medication.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 Further than the inhibiting effect of the statins on the body\u2019s bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10.<\/p>\n

They explain how the statin medications inhibit the body\u2019s production of the selenium containing proteins called selenoproteins.\u00a0 Among these selenoproteins are the glutathione peroxidases and the thioredoxin reductases.\u00a0 These selenoproteins function as antioxidant enzymes to help suppress the oxidative damage caused to lipids and proteins and DNA by harmful free radicals.<\/p>\n

Drs. Okuyama and Langsjoen<\/a> argue that the statin medications\u2019 impairing of the body\u2019s production of selenoproteins might well be a factor in the marked increase in cases of congestive heart failure in recent years.\u00a0\u00a0 After all, it is known that selenium deficiency is associated with the development of dilated cardiomyopathy (= decreased ability of the weakened heart to pump blood).<\/p>\n

Keshan disease and selenium deficiency<\/strong>
\nRight.\u00a0 I had read about the often fatal heart disease called Keshan disease in a selenium-poor region of China and about the successful treatment of Keshan disease<\/a> with selenium supplementation [Chen]. \u00a0 I was immediately interested in what Drs. Okuyama and Langsjoen have to say.\u00a0 I had to do a Medline <\/em>search to see what other evidence there is for a link between the taking of statin medications and decreased production of selenoproteins.<\/p>\n

Side-effects of statin medications and selenoprotein production<\/strong>
\nRather quickly, I found the published articles by the researchers Moosmann and Behl and Kromer and Moosmann at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany.<\/p>\n

They show how the statin medications reduce the body\u2019s production of cholesterol by inhibiting the biological pathway<\/a> in which mevalonic acid and its derivative mevalonate are produced.\u00a0 Mevalonate is necessary for the production of cholesterol.\u00a0 Less mevalonate equals less cholesterol.<\/p>\n

However, mevalonate is also needed for the body\u2019s production of isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP), and IPP is necessary for the body\u2019s production of the amino acid selenocysteine [Moosmann].<\/p>\n

Less selenocysteine = fewer selenoproteins<\/strong>
\nWe know that the selenium that we ingest from food and supplements does not float around in the blood and in the cells in its elemental form.\u00a0 The selenium is incorporated either into the amino acid selenomethionine or into the amino acid selenocysteine.\u00a0 Similarly, selenocysteine does not exist freely in the cells.<\/p>\n

Selenocysteine is incorporated into the 25 known selenoproteins<\/a>.\u00a0 There are some 22,000 proteins in the human body.\u00a0 Only 25 of these proteins are selenoproteins containing selenocysteine.\u00a0 Despite their relative rarity, the selenoproteins are important for many and various functions:<\/p>\n