Not only from atherosclerosis
Cholesterol-lowering drugs, it turned out, treat the intestines as well
Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+
Scientists evaluated the composition of the intestinal microbiota of obese and non-obese people, taking into account their intake of statins for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, and found that these drugs reduced the frequency of inflammatory processes in the intestine by 2/3. Now scientists want to find out exactly how this mechanism works.
The human gut microbiota consists of trillions of microorganisms that affect the immune system, metabolism and the nervous system. An imbalance in the composition of intestinal bacteria is associated with various diseases, including obesity. In a new study, scientists from The University of Copenhagen found out that cholesterol–lowering drugs, statins, can improve intestinal function in obese people.
Article by Vieira-Silva et al. Statin therapy is associated with lower prevalence of gut microbiota dysbiosis published in the journal Nature – VM.
Scientists analyzed the composition of the gut microbiota of almost 900 Europeans who either had a normal physique or were obese. They found a group of bacteria of the genus Bacteroides enterotype Bact2, which differed in people on the background of taking statins. In humans, the enterotype Bact2 is associated with systemic inflammation and diarrhea.
This group of bacteria was found in 4% of people with a normal build and overweight, as well as in 18% of obese people. All of them did not take statins for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
In contrast, in obese people taking statins, the prevalence of enterotype Bact2 was only in 6% of cases. The same trend was also observed in another study involving 2,000 people.
"Statins can probably improve impaired gut microbiota and inflammation in obesity," the authors say.
The association of statins with anti-inflammatory effect in rat models is also known from previous preclinical studies. To finally clarify the causal relationship, scientists emphasize the need for placebo-controlled clinical trials. They also hope to find out the mechanism of action of statins underlying this process. Until then, statins should not be considered as a therapeutic agent for the intestine, the authors emphasize.
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