12 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Statins (such as simvastatin or Zocor) are the most effective and widely prescribed medications to lower cholesterol levels and reduce the frequency of heart attacks, cardiac deaths and strokes. Unfortunately, statins can cause muscle discomfort or pain called "myalgia" in patients treated with these drugs. These symptoms often cause patients who need these medications to stop taking the drug. The cause of statin muscle pain is not known, but it is thought that a reduction of a vitamin-like substance called Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) during statin treatment may play a role. CoQ10 is a vitamin like substance and is not a drug approved and regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This study will look at the effects of CoQ10 supplements on individuals who develop muscle symptoms while on simvastatin. The investigators hope to test the hypothesis that CoQ10 supplementation compared to placebo in patients with documented statin myalgia reduces the intensity of pain during statin treatment.
Lipitor®, Zocor®, and Crestor® are statin drugs commonly taken to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease. Statins lower cholesterol by different amounts in different patients and sometimes statins cause muscle pain, cramps, or weakness. This study will examine genetic differences in the blood of patients taking statins to predict both how well the statins lower cholesterol, and whether muscle discomfort occurs. Finding such genetic connections is the key to developing genetic tests that might eventually help determine which statin is best for a patient. About 1000 people will be in the study.
To evaluate the effects of 3-months annatto-derived geranylgeraniol (GG) supplementation on statin-associated skeletal muscle health.
The proposed study will focus on possible effects of statins on muscle strength and why they become tired more easily, quality of life, and measurements to understand why muscles are not able to fully utilize fats. The investigators are specifically interested in statin users and the impact of muscle symptoms on daily activities and quality of life. This study hypothesize that patients with likely statin-associated myopathy have a metabolic dysregulation in fuel utilization such that compared to patients continuing statins, those on placebo will show: 1. improved Individualized Neuromuscular Quality of Life (INQoL) and Short Form-36 (SF-36) scores (primary end point) 2. alleviation of muscle symptoms, 3. increased utilization of fatty acids as a fuel source reflected by the metabolic test results 4. decreased intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) 5. improved insulin sensitivity.
Statins are a class of drugs given to lower cholesterol. Although statins are considered to be generally safe, some studies show that about 10% of people on statins develop muscle-related symptoms, from fatigue (tiredness), weakness, cramping, pain and sometimes a lifethreatening muscle breakdown condition known as rhabdomyolysis. In some, these symptoms may greatly affect their daily activities. One consideration why symptoms develop in only some patients is that they may have an underlying problem in the way their muscles use fats to produce energy. In these patients, the muscles are not able to fully utilize fats and so they become tired more easily. Fat within the muscle can also affect how your body uses a hormone called insulin, which affects your blood sugar levels. The investigators are specifically interested in previous statin users and determine if the muscle symptoms are related to changes in energy and sugar use. We propose to enroll patients who have developed muscle side effects on previous statin treatment and have since discontinued statin treatment. Our aim is to compare the metabolic parameters in these patients to age and gender-matched normal individuals.
This study will examine the effect of red yeast rice extract compared to pravastatin on muscle related complaints in individuals with high cholesterol who have previously been unable to tolerate statin medications due to muscle pain. The study will determine whether red yeast is associated with a lower level of muscle related complaints compared to pravastatin.
There is a significant proportion of patients complaining of muscle symptoms while on statin therapy who have a measurable difference in muscle strength or endurance and whose muscle biopsies are diagnostic for myopathy.
The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the side-effects of statin consumption, and assess the ability of epicatechin (a compound in dark chocolate) to counteract or reverse these changes. The investigators' prior research has shown that epicatechin can improve skeletal muscle structure and mitochondrial (which gives us energy) structure.
It is our primary hypothesis that statin drugs impair skeletal muscle mitochondrial function and that ubiquinol (the reduced active form of CoQ10) supplementation will block impairment of PCr recovery kinetics in patients using statins. The investigators propose a pilot study to extend our research to examine PCr recovery kinetics in 20 statin users randomized in a parallel arm study to either ubiquinol or placebo over 4 weeks.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanism of statin-related myopathy by evaluating muscle samples before and after statin exposure.
Statins are a group of medications that are used to lower cholesterol levels. Although serious side effects are rare, some people taking statins experience muscle pain or weakness. This study will evaluate the number of people who experience mild muscle complaints and will determine the effect of statins on skeletal muscle strength, endurance, and aerobic exercise performance.
This proposal seeks to determine whether near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can differentiate between patients with confirmed SAMS and those with non-specific muscle complaints. NIRS is a non-invasive technique of assessing skeletal muscle tissue oxygenation and mitochondrial function. Mitochondrial dysfunction is a possible cause of SAMS, but NIRS has never been evaluated as a diagnostic tool for SAMS. Investigators will enroll 40 patients with a history of SAMS in an 8 wk randomized, double-blind crossover trial of simvastatin 20 mg/d and placebo separated by a 4 wk washout phase. Tissue oxygenation will be measured using NIRS during a short handgrip exercise protocol before and after each treatment period. Investigators will query patients about muscle complaints weekly during both phases of the study with a validated survey to assess muscle pain. Investigators will classify patients as testing positive for SAMS if they report pain on simvastatin and not placebo. Investigators hypothesize that these patients, vs. patients experiencing pain on both treatments, placebo, or neither treatment, will be distinguished by reduced tissue oxygenation during simvastatin treatment relative to placebo, demonstrating efficacy of NIRS as a clinical tool that can be eventually used for the diagnosis and ultimately treatment of SAMS.