Statin snag
Gene variant places some people at risk of side effect from statins
By Nathan Seppa
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Cholesterol-reducing drugs called statins do their job with remarkable efficiency, but in rare individuals they can cause a painful muscle side effect called myopathy. Researchers report in an upcoming issue of the New England Journal of Medicine the discovery of a gene variant that places people at risk of this complication.
The gene, called SLCO1B1, encodes a protein that shuttles compounds from the blood stream into the liver for processing. This cargo includes statins.