Interesting study.
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I was just about to post on this too 
, but you beat me to it. Interestingly, lovastatin is a natural compound produced from fungi like oyster mushrooms which are delicious. Sometimes with medication or substances there can be collective phobias such as with the classic Chinese Restaurant Syndrome in Australia which I remember in the 1990s where MSG was considered toxic and many Chinese restaurants were required to state on their menus āNo MSGā lest they risked having no customers.
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I never read any of what the leaflets in the pill boxes say unless I have a reaction. So when I was on Atorvastatin why did I get left arm muscle pain. Went to see my pharmacist and they said go see your Dr. It can give you arm muscle pain. Leaflet when I read it also said this and Dr confirmed it also. So not to sure on this research. Now on Rosuvastatin and no issues.
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I have found most leaflets list a lot of the same side effects.
I saw the findings of this study on the news. Hopefully theyāll update the leaflets & other info sources with the latest info.
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Muscle pain is one of the side effects that the researchers found that there was evidence for. The ones they questioned were things like memory loss, depression, sleep disturbances etc, where the incidence in the study group seemed to be roughly the same as for the people not taking statins.
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They conducted a previous study where muscle symptoms were apparent in 1%, I too had muscle pain issues with Atorvastatin that disappeared when I switched to Rosuvastatin. If you look up the difference between the two it states that Atorvastatin is lipophilic (fat-soluble) and can cause more muscle side-effects whereas Rosuvastatin is hydrophilic (water-soluble) and doesnāt.
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Thanks for sharing Wolfie.
Iām taking this with a punch of salt!!
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I saw this on the news and was going to post on it. What Rups says is interesting. I donāt have side effects but on my annual review at the docs I was told I didnāt have high cholesterol. Last year I was told I was prediabeticā but not this year. Diabetes was supposed to be a side effect of statins. Who do you believe?
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This is what I have learnt ; Cholesterol is not bad, itās good for us ; the brain is 25% cholesterolā¦it transports neurons. When cholesterol gets low we get dementia. One theory is that low cholesterol can be a marker of poor overall health, frailty, or underlying disease , not the cause of the dementia itself. A high-fat diet helps ; demonizing all fats is a mistake .
- Cholesterol is a precursor to vitamin D, steroid hormones (like estrogen and testosterone), and bile acids needed for digestion.
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You believe your body.
When you take any meds, your body will normally give some feedback.
What was your condition before you took the medication and what is your condition after you took the medication.
Any changes might reasonably be attributed to the medication. It may not be as simple as this, but this is how we (my family) think when taking any medications. We try to avoid them as much as we can 
Also, if you are taking multiple medications it might be more complicated and you should be aware of how the medicines might interreact with each other as well as other foods. Just as an example, if you like grapefruit (many used to have this for breakfast) then you should know it interacts with some statins and some BP lowering medications. So you should always check with your GP or pharmacist (the GP should be aware, but itās your body, so you should take responsibility).
Roland - I think you might have made a typo here. The brain itself may not be 25% cholesterol, but rather, 25% of the cholesterol in the body is in the brain. Hopefully I havenāt misunderstood this
And yes, cholesterol is most definitely an important contributor to the bodyās overall health and functionality.
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But the body is a master of disguise, and sometimes has nefarious plans it refuses to reveal until itās too late 
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Existence, for some, will be a continuous journey of discovery, for others, it will be lived with carefree complacency. When I see a medical professional, I always see us as equals, they are working things out as they go along, albeit with a head start on background science and me with my own feelings and deductions on the matters at hand. The thing is, many medical professionals are in the same boat, at times, as their patients. They get sick too and have the same questions we have, regarding their wellbeing. Iām sure GPs who have had strokes would be no better suited at rehabilitation and figuring it all out as ourselves.
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I thought there were two types of cholesterol? For lack of a better coupling of words, good and bad, like good and bad fats?
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sure!
- Your brain is especially rich in cholesterol (about 25% of the bodyās total is found there). It is crucial for forming synapses (the connections between neurons) and for the function of brain cells.
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sure LDL , HDL
but look into it ; dig deep ; itās not just Bad vs Good and opinions vary
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There is growing evidence that the so-called bad cholesterol isnāt all bad. There are three distinct types of LDL and type B is the one that is being associated with damage to blood vessels. Itās small and dense and tends to stick to blood vessel walls, while the other types are lighter and fluffier and float around in the blood being useful. Commonly available cholesterol tests donāt differentiate between types so all LDL is labeled as bad.
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Diolch @harimanjaro and @pando - cholesterol is not something Iāve generally looked into. The extent of my knowledge before and after stroke was TOFI because Iām of elven build but see myself more of a hobgoblin.
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I posted the following to Manji last September
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Interesting stuff, but I question the Masai tribe aspect, I did a cursory dip into the phenomenon and the articles I gleaned, stated that it is believed their ability to process cholesterol as they do has to do with liver genetics, although this is not conclusive.
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Okay, Iāve studied them (for gait). But forget Masai, (and forget what I do or donāt say) there are plenty of ppl saying when it comes to longevity, low cholesterol = kaput
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