Lou Gehrig's disease & cholesterol medicine
QUESTION: Is there any connection between Lou gehrig's disease and high blood pressure or cholesterol medicine?
ANSWER: Hi there,
Lou Gehrig’s disease is a very dangerous, progressive neurological disorder. Some patients with this syndrome are having elevated cholesterol concentration and high blood pressure at the same time.
Because of this, the patients are obligated to take drugs for blood cholesterol reduction purpose and drugs, which are keeping their blood pressure within normal ranges.
However, the scientists are absolutely sure that these drugs are not causing the appearance of this syndrome, because most of the modern drugs used for high cholesterol and high blood pressure treatment, weren’t on the market in 1939, which was the year, when Lou Gehrig syndrome was discovered.
Lou Gehrig’s syndrome is autoimmune diseases, which is characterized with the production of antibodies versus the neurons in the central nervous system.
These antibodies are damaging those nerve cells responsible for the movements of body, like walking, waving and others.
The symptoms of this disease are muscle pain, inability to move your limbs, inability to talk and at the advanced stages of the disease - inability to breath. The inability to breath is the major cause of death among the patients with this syndrome.
Please take note that the above-mentioned symptoms are characteristic for other neurological conditions and because of this, when you notice these symptoms, please inform your doctor immediately.
Because of the modern treatment of this disorder, the patients with Lou Gehrig’s syndrome are able to live 5-10 years after the diagnose confirmation.
I’m not able to provide you information for all of them and because of this, it would be nice from you to give me the name of the drug, which you are using or which you intend to use to give a particular answer.
When this enzyme is inhibited, the production of cholesterol is reduced. However, the bad thing related with these drugs is that they are having side effects, as any other drugs.
Some of the stains’ side effects are vomiting, constipation, headaches, muscle pain and weakness. You have to know that sometimes, when the patient is taking a dose, higher than the recommended one, lysis of muscle cell may appear.
This is very dangerous and you are obligated to inform you doctor, when you notice, that something unusual is happening with your muscles.
As it was mentioned Lou Gehrig’s syndrome is sometimes characterized by elevation of the blood cholesterol concentration and high blood pressure. Because of this, the patient is obligated to take statins and drugs for treatment of the high blood pressure, according to the opinion of the doctor.
These drugs are really improving the general condition of the patient, but they are not able to stop the progression of the disease. These drugs aim the blood vessels and not the nerve cells in the central nervous system.
Hope it helped!
Dr.Alba
Lower back pain and taking cholesterol and blood pressure medicine!
QUESTION: Lower back pain and taking cholesterol and blood pressure medicine!
- EXPLAIN IF ANY OF CHOLESTEROL LOWERING OR BLOOD PRESSURE LOWERING DRUG HAS LOWER BACK PAIN AS THEIR SIDE EFFECTS AND WHY?
ANSWER: Hi there,
You have to know that every drug has a lot of side effects; some of them are frequent, while others are very rare.
However, you haven’t mentioned which are the names of the drugs which you are taking for lowering your cholesterol level and your blood pressure.
Pay attention to the fact, that there are several groups of drugs which are used for treating elevated blood pressure and every group contains 10-20 drugs with different side effects.
Because of this, I can’t specify if the drug(s) which you are using to lower your blood pressure are causing the lower back pain.
The good thing is that mainly statins are used in the cholesterol lowering treatment. In addition, statins are a group of drugs with identical side effects, where one most usual is the muscle pain.
This side effect is appearing because the statins are inhibiting an enzyme which is called Hydroxyl-methyl-glutaryl CoA reductase (HMG-CoA reducatse), which is found even in the muscle cells.
When this enzyme is inhibited in the muscle cells, the accumulation of HMG-CoA begins, which is stimulating the nerve cells and you are starting to feel pain.
However, you don’t have to worry about this accumulation, because the organism is using other metabolic reactions to remove HMG-CoA from the muscle cells.
You have to know that some muscles have faster metabolism, which leads to the activation of the other metabolic reactions in shorter period. That is the reason why you are not feeling pain in all of your muscles.
Pay attention to the fact that, it is possible for the lower back pain to be a symptom of something else.
You have to know that nerve irritation in the lumbar strain, kidney problems, pelvic infections and other are characterized with lower back pain.
My advice is to make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible and he will be able to define the exact cause of the pain.
Besides, you should discus with him to change your pills if the cause of the pain is the medications which you are taking.
Hope it helped!
Dr.Alba
