Statins have power to help elderly fight off killer superbug

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MRSA can cause a range of skin conditions and life-threatening infections

A study of almost 30,000 patients found those on the cholesterol-lowering drugs were up to 30 per cent less likely to carry the bacteria which can cause the infection.

Experts yesterday hailed the “exciting” possibility of statins offering protection from the bug.

MRSA can cause a range of skin conditions and life-threatening infections.

It is one of the most common bugs picked up in hospitals and can be lethal for patients with weak immune systems.

The research found statins, especially among elderly patients with conditions such as kidney or liver disease, may be protective against the serious infection.

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MRSA is one of the most common bugs picked up in hospitals

Our results indicate statins may have an important place in the prevention of bloodstream infection caused by staphylococcus aureus which would hold important clinical and public health implications

Dr Jesper Smit – Aalborg University Hospital


Those on the cholesterol-lowering drugs were 27 per cent less likely to contract the bacteria rising to 30 per cent for long-term users.

As Britain’s population is ageing and more people live with chronic medical conditions, any potential preventive effect of statins could have important implications.

Dr Jesper Smit, of Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark, said: “Our results indicate statins may have an important place in the prevention of bloodstream infection caused by staphylococcus aureus which would hold important clinical and public health implications.”

Statins which cost a few pence, are the most commonly prescribed drugs in Britain with six million people taking them.

But they are controversial because they have been linked with causing muscle weakness.

Other patients have also complained of muscle aches, memory loss, kidney problems and sleep disturbance.

The latest findings, published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, analysed records of almost 30,000 people in Denmark over a 12-year period.

Researchers found that the more statins the patients were taking, the less likely they were to acquire the potentially lethal bacteria. Even new users whose first prescription for statins was within 90 days had a modest four per cent reduction in risk.

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Six million Britons take statins

Dr Smit said the results called for more research on the protective benefits of statins.

He added: “Our observations warrant confirmation in other settings that the biological mechanisms by which statin treatment may protect against this type of infection should be explored further.”

Dr Daniel DeSimone of the Mayo Clinic in the US, called for trials.

He said: “The work raises the exciting possibility the effects of statins may also harbour important antimicrobial effects that may exert a clinically relevant benefit.

“Trials in the case of statins are appealing because these drugs are relatively low-cost, can easily be matched against a placebo, and would allow for enrollment at the time of an already necessary antibiotic prescription.”

MRSA lives harmlessly on the skin of around one in three people and healthy people – including children and pregnant women – are not usually at risk of infections.

It is resistant to widely-used antibiotics. About 30 per cent of people carry the bacteria on skin, or in the nose, without realising.

However it can invade the body’s bloodstream and release poisonous toxins.

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MRSA lives harmlessly on the skin of one in three people

Statins are a group of medicines that can help lower the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood.

LDL cholesterol is often referred to as “bad cholesterol”, and statins reduce the production of it inside the liver.

In most cases, treatment with statins continues for life as stopping the medication causes cholesterol to return to a high level. Last month a 20-year review by Imperial College London showed taking statins reduces the risk of premature death by as much as 28 per cent.

However, other studies have found that statins increase the risk of developing diabetes by up to 50 per cent.

Those on high doses of the cholesterol-busting pills are more prone to suffer dangerous spikes in blood sugar levels – an unwanted by-product of the drug.