In a new study researchers have found that long term use of statin which is used to lower the cholesterol level could cause depression. The drug statin bangs serotonin which is a neurotransmitter in the brain that controls behaviors and mood. The long term use of the drug can cause important changes in functioning and structure of the serotin receptors.
Addition of cholesterol to cells that are treated with statin reinstated the purpose of the receptors to normal levels, was found in study conducted on animal cells by Amitabha Chattopdhyay and his group at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB).
The chronic use cholesterol lowering drug statin and mood chaos was published in the journal Biochemistry which is brought out by the American Chemical Society. The long term use of statins can cause anxiety and depression only in small but important proportion say ten to twenty percent of people who might have been hereditarily disposed towards the condition, said Professor Chattopadhyay and CCMB director Ch. Mohan Rao.
It was also indicated that deaths due to heart disease had come down considerably in last two decades due to preamble of statins. Which hold back the key enzyme responsible for cholesterol biosynthesis in the human body. In last few years various periodical have shown evident symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients who used statin for long term.
Statins were the highest selling drugs in the market and latest approximations of worldwide sale annually was around $25 billion, said Professor Chattopadhyay.