Statins: Pro and Con

By Sora Song

Statin drugs have helped millions of heart patients lower their cholesterol level--and may have helped in other ways as well. A study last week showed that long-term statin use may lower the risk of glaucoma; another suggested that the drugs may offer relief from rheumatoid arthritis. That's the good news. The bad news is that statins don't work as well for everyone. A big study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found the statin Pravachol was up to 22% less effective in patients with two common variations in one of 10 genes involved in cholesterol metabolism. In the future, doctors may be able to test patients' genes to determine in advance who will benefit most from the drugs. --By Sora Song