Cholesterol and Statin drugs

[Swarfmaker]

Perhaps physicians have been too enthusiastic about the use of
statins, prescribed them too often, instead of telling people,
"exercise more, lose weight and change what you eat."

Statins Show Dramatic Drug And Cell Dependent Effects In The Brain
ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2009) — Besides their tremendous value in
treating high cholesterol and lowering the risk of heart disease,
statins have also been reported to potentially lower the risks of
other diseases, such as dementia. However, a study in the October
Journal of Lipid Research finds that similar statin drugs can have
profoundly different effects on brain cells -both beneficial and
detrimental. These findings reinforce the idea that great care should
be taken when deciding on the dosage and type of statin given to
individuals, particularly the elderly...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028114017.htm

Maybe different statin drugs have different effects. I found this
article on ScienceDaily.com. It is about the effects of Simvastatin
(Zocor?) on Parkinson's disease in a "mouse model". I did a quick
search on Google for the protein mentioned in the article, "p21Ras".
It seems that it is involved with several diseases.

Widely Used Cholesterol-lowering Drug May Prevent Progression Of
Parkinson's Disease
ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2009)
Simvastatin, a commonly used, cholesterol-lowering drug, may prevent
Parkinson's disease from progressing further. Neurological researchers
at Rush University Medical Center conducted a study examining the use
of the FDA-approved medication in mice with Parkinson's disease and
found that the drug successfully reverses the biochemical, cellular
and anatomical changes caused by the disease. Pahan and colleagues
from Rush, along with researchers at the University of Nebraska
Medical Center in Omaha published these findings in the October 28
issue of the Journal of Neurosciences. The authors have shown that the
activity of one protein called p21Ras is increased very early in the
midbrain of mice with Parkinson's pathology. Simvastatin enters into
the brain and blocks the activity of the p21Ras protein and other
associated toxic molecules, and goes on to protect the neurons,
normalize neurotransmitter levels, and improves the motor functions in
the mice with Parkinson's...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029211647.htm

Here's a link to another article about the same paper which was
published in the Oct. 28 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/ParkinsonsDisease/16754?userid=116512&impressionId=1257229214086&utm_source=mSpoke&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_content=Group1


Diabetes May Clamp Down on Cholesterol the Brain Needs

ScienceDaily (Nov. 30, 2010) — The brain contains more cholesterol
than any other organ in the body, has to produce its own cholesterol
and won't function normally if it doesn't churn out enough. Defects in
cholesterol metabolism have been linked with Alzheimer's disease and
other neurodegenerative conditions. Now researchers at Joslin Diabetes
Center have discovered that diabetes can affect how much cholesterol
the brain can make... "Since cholesterol is required by neurons to
form synapses (connections) with other cells, this decrease in
cholesterol could affect how nerves function for appetite regulation,
behavior, memory and even pain and motor activity. Thus, this has
broad implications for people with diabetes."... Additionally, the
finding raises a question about potential interactions between anti-
cholesterol drugs and diabetes...

When the scientists took normal mice and temporarily reduced
cholesterol creation in the hypothalamus with a technique known as RNA
interference, the animals started eating more and gained significant
weight. Previous studies by other labs have demonstrated that diabetes
may affect brain hormones involved in appetite regulation.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101130122027.htm

Does this suggest that changes in the brain cholesterol levels or even
problems with glucose metabolism cause increase eating? It's as if
there are chemical signals in the brain saying, "hey, I'm starving up
here. Send up more food!"

One of the earliest signs of my mother's illness was significant
weight loss. She thought is was great and that she was doing it by
mere willpower.

It would also means that being overweight is an early indicator of an
illness, not merely overindulgence. In this light, insurance companies
and government programs that punish people for being overweight are
quite unjust because this is punishing people for being sick. If
people could will themselves thinner, there wouldn't even be a "weight
loss industry".

But then there is this earlier article that seems to contradict the
article I cited previously ...

Chronic High Cholesterol Diet Produces Brain Damage

ScienceDaily (Nov. 24, 2010)...The aim of the study led by Humpel was
to study the effects of hypercholesterolemia in adult rats. Male 6
months old Sprague Dawley rats were fed with normal food (controls) or
with a special 5% cholesterol-enriched diet (hypercholesterolemia).
After 5 months animals were tested for behavioral impairments and
pathological markers similar to those found in the brains of patients
with Alzheimer's disease. The results showed that chronic
hypercholesterolemia caused memory impairment, cholinergic
dysfunction, inflammation, enhanced cortical beta-amyloid and tau and
induced microbleedings, all indications, which resemble an Alzheimer's
disease-like pathology...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101124114550.htm