Anti-cholesterol drugs impair brain's activity, lead to depression

For the first time, Indian scientists have found the link between Cholesterol-lowering drugs and depression
Prolonged administration of statins, the anti-cholesterol drugs, can lead to anxiety disorders and depression  in patients and also develop suicidal tendencies, scientists at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) have established.
Statins: drugs that leads to depression

Cholestrol is a waxy steroid metabolite required by the body in different cellular operations. But the excess intake of cholesterol may result in blockage of arteries, thereby reducing blood circulation and causing a heart attack. Statins are a class of drugs which lower the cholesterol level in blood by decreasing the synthesis of cholesterol in the human body, thus preventing the risk of heart-attack.
Statins are used to treat cholesterol-related diseases like hypercholesterolemia. It inhibits the action of HMG Co-A Reductase, an enzyme critical for cholesterol synthesis in liver.
Now a new research study conducted by Amitabha Chattopadhyay from the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad, published in the journal 'Biochemistry', clearly indicates the relationship between statins and mood disorders.
Scientists have shown that cholesterol depletion by statins impairs the function of the receptors for 'serotonin', a neurotransmitter in the brain that controls mood.
Earlier, Chattopadhyay's team had shown that normal cholesterol levels are required for the proper functioning of serotonin. Their latest study showed that lowering of cholesterol level in the brain affects the function of serotonin receptors, leading to depression.
The effect of statins on human serotonin receptors, expressed in animal cells called "Chinese Hamster Ovary" cells, was demonstrated through a test tube experiment.
In fact, the results showed that excessive use of statins deranges the structure and function of serotonin receptors, hence impairing the brain's control and co-ordination mechanisms.
Statins’ side effects
According to Chattopadhyay, statins are the highest selling drugs in the market and their global sale annually clocks around $25 billion. In India, their market is worth Rs.1,000 crore a year.
"These novel results represent the first report describing the effect of long-term cholesterol depletion on this type of neurotransmitter receptor and suggest that chronic, low cholesterol levels in the brain may trigger anxiety and depression," Chattopadhyay told IANS.
Though statins are widely prescribed by physicians across the world, but high dose of these can trigger many disorders like muscle pain and rhabdomyolysis, muscle weakness and neuropathy, memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease.