Amidst all the gloom about not having enough H1N1 vaccine to satisfy all those who want to get it, here is a bit of heartening news: a small study from the US has shown that people who take statin drugs (those drugs to lower LDL levels, such as – sorry, trade names here because those are the most familiar to most people – Lipotor, Zocor, Crestor, and others ) have a significantly lower risk (about half) of dying from a severe case of H1N1 compared to people not on statins.
No one knows the reason, of course, but statins are known to have a pretty potent anti-inflammatory effect (in fact, that’s probably an important part of the reason – along with their LDL-lowering effect – that they statins lower the heart attack risk in people who take them), and perhaps it’s that trait, namely, dampening down the severe and occasionally lethal inflammation that happens in rare cases of H1N1 infection – the so-called cytokine storm, that is responsible for their beneficial role in H1N1 infection.
Interestingly, if these results are actually found to hold true in larger studies, it may also help explain (in part) why people over 65, so many of who take statins these days, have an overall lower death rate from H1N1 than do younger people.
Bottom line: although no one should start taking statins to treat an H1N1 infection, if you’re already on one of those drugs for other reasons, hey, you may be getting an extra benefit from them.
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