Department of Science, University of Rome "Roma Tre", Italy.
Medical Genetics Unit, University Hospital of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy.
Curr Neuropharmacol. 2019;17(1):59-83. doi: 10.2174/1570159X15666170703101816.
Statins represent a class of medications widely prescribed to efficiently treat dyslipidemia. These drugs inhibit 3-βhydroxy 3β-methylglutaryl Coenzyme A reductase (HMGR), the rate-limiting enzyme of mevalonate (MVA) pathway. Besides cholesterol, MVA pathway leads to the production of several other compounds, which are essential in the regulation of a plethora of biological activities, including in the central nervous system. For these reasons, statins are able to induce pleiotropic actions, and acquire increased interest as potential and novel modulators in brain processes, especially during pathological conditions.
The purpose of this review is to summarize and examine the current knowledge about pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of statins in the brain. In addition, effects of statin on brain diseases are discussed providing the most up-to-date information.
Relevant scientific information was identified from PubMed database using the following keywords: statins and brain, central nervous system, neurological diseases, neurodegeneration, brain tumors, mood, stroke.
315 scientific articles were selected and analyzed for the writing of this review article. Several papers highlighted that statin treatment is effective in preventing or ameliorating the symptomatology of a number of brain pathologies. However, other studies failed to demonstrate a neuroprotective effect.
Even though considerable research studies suggest pivotal functional outcomes induced by statin therapy, additional investigation is required to better determine the pharmacological effectiveness of statins in the brain, and support their clinical use in the management of different neuropathologies.
他汀类药物是一类广泛用于有效治疗血脂异常的药物。这些药物抑制 3-β羟-3β-甲基戊二酰辅酶 A 还原酶（HMGR），即甲羟戊酸（MVA）途径的限速酶。除了胆固醇，MVA 途径还导致多种其他化合物的产生，这些化合物在调节多种生物活性中至关重要，包括中枢神经系统。出于这些原因，他汀类药物能够诱导多效性作用，并作为潜在的新型调节剂在大脑过程中获得更多关注，尤其是在病理条件下。
本综述的目的是总结和检查他汀类药物在大脑中的药代动力学和药效学特性的现有知识。此外，还讨论了他汀类药物对脑部疾病的影响，提供了最新的信息。
使用以下关键词从 PubMed 数据库中确定相关的科学信息：他汀类药物和大脑、中枢神经系统、神经疾病、神经退行性变、脑肿瘤、情绪、中风。
选择了 315 篇科学文章进行分析，以撰写这篇综述文章。有几篇论文强调，他汀类药物治疗在预防或改善多种脑部疾病的症状方面是有效的。然而，其他研究未能证明其具有神经保护作用。
尽管大量研究表明他汀类药物治疗可诱导重要的功能结果，但仍需要进一步研究以更好地确定他汀类药物在大脑中的药理作用，并支持其在不同神经病理学管理中的临床应用。
