Statins 'prevent artery ageing'

Statins are now very widely used by the NHS

Drugs given to heart patients to lower cholesterol may have an additional benefit - keeping their blood vessels feeling younger.
Advanced heart disease patients have arteries which have effectively aged faster than the rest of their bodies.
University of Cambridge scientists, writing in the journal Circulation
Research, say statins may be able to hold back this process.
They hinted the same drugs might also prevent damage elsewhere in the body.

It's an exciting breakthrough to find that statins not only lower cholesterol but also rev up the cells' own DNA repair kit Professor Martin Bennett Cambridge University

Statins are seen as a key tool in the fight against heart disease,
and in low doses have been made available "over-the-counter" at
pharmacies.
While it has been known for some time that they can lower
cholesterol levels, this did not fully account for the benefits
experienced by some patients, and evidence is growing that they can
boost the function of the cells lining the heart arteries.
The Cambridge study adds to this evidence, and may shed light on how statins do this.
Cells in the body can only divide a limited number of times, and
in patients with heart disease, the rate of division in these arterial
cells is greatly accelerated - dividing between seven and 13 times more
often than normal.
As the cells "run out of " divisions, they can suffer DNA damage, and do not work as well.
One of the important roles of these cells is to keep the artery
clear of fatty "plaques" which can expand and block them, causing
angina or heart attack.
Cancer clue
The research found that statins appear to increase levels of a
protein called NBS-1, which is involved in the repair of DNA within
cells. This means they may be able to hold off the effects of old age
in the artery wall for a little longer.
Professor Martin Bennett, who led the research, said: "It's an
exciting breakthrough to find that statins not only lower cholesterol
but also rev up the cells' own DNA repair kit, slowing the ageing
process of the diseased artery.
"If statins can do this to other cells, they may protect normal
tissues from DNA damage that occurs as part of chemotherapy and
radiotherapy for cancer, potentially reducing the side-effects."
Professor Peter Weissberg, the British Heart Foundation's
medical director, added: "Too much cholesterol in the blood induces a
repeated cycle of damage and repair in the blood vessel wall which
results in a heart attack if the repair mechanism is inadequate.
"Statins protect against heart attacks by reducing cholesterol
levels and subsequent damage to the vessel wall - this research has
shown they may also enhance the blood vessels' natural repair
mechanisms."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7637937.stm