Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Western Journal of Medicine logoLink to The Western Journal of Medicine
. 1991 Feb;154(2):198–200.

Lovastatin use and muscle damage in healthy volunteers undergoing eccentric muscle exercise.

C S Reust 1, S C Curry 1, J R Guidry 1
PMCID: PMC1002711  PMID: 2006566

Abstract

We did a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study of 10 healthy young men taking no medications to determine if ingesting lovastatin is associated with more severe muscle damage after exercise. Five men in the first group took 40 mg of lovastatin daily for 30 days while those in the second group took an identical-appearing placebo. Each volunteer then walked downhill on a -14-degree incline on a treadmill at 3 km per hour for an hour. After a 2-week rest, the subjects were crossed over. Serial serum creatine kinase activity was measured immediately before and 8, 24, 48, 72, 120, and 144 hours after each treadmill session. With each subject serving as his own control, peak mean serum creatine kinase activity (/+- SEM) following treadmill after lovastatin therapy was similar to that following placebo (168.4 +/- 25.8 U per liter versus 146.7 +/- 14.7 U per liter, respectively [P = .9]). With an alpha value of .05, we had greater than a 99% chance of detecting a difference in the rise of serum creatine kinase activity of 200 U per liter between groups. Our data suggest that lovastatin is not an independent risk factor for developing exercise-induced muscle damage using this model of exercise in our study population.

Full text

PDF
198

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ayanian J. Z., Fuchs C. S., Stone R. M. Lovastatin and rhabdomyolysis. Ann Intern Med. 1988 Oct 15;109(8):682–683. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-109-8-682. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Broome C. V., Mortimer E. A., Katz S. L., Fleming D. W., Hightower A. W. More on rifampin prophylaxis against Haemophilus influenzae b in day-care facilities. N Engl J Med. 1988 Jan 7;318(1):48–49. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198801073180112. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Corpier C. L., Jones P. H., Suki W. N., Lederer E. D., Quinones M. A., Schmidt S. W., Young J. B. Rhabdomyolysis and renal injury with lovastatin use. Report of two cases in cardiac transplant recipients. JAMA. 1988 Jul 8;260(2):239–241. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Demos M. A., Gitin E. L. Acute exertional rhabdomyolysis. Arch Intern Med. 1974 Feb;133(2):233–239. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. East C., Alivizatos P. A., Grundy S. M., Jones P. H., Farmer J. A. Rhabdomyolysis in patients receiving lovastatin after cardiac transplantation. N Engl J Med. 1988 Jan 7;318(1):47–48. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198801073180111. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Evans W. J., Meredith C. N., Cannon J. G., Dinarello C. A., Frontera W. R., Hughes V. A., Jones B. H., Knuttgen H. G. Metabolic changes following eccentric exercise in trained and untrained men. J Appl Physiol (1985) 1986 Nov;61(5):1864–1868. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1986.61.5.1864. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Israeli A., Raveh D., Arnon R., Eisenberg S., Stein Y. Lovastatin and elevated creatine kinase: results of rechallenge. Lancet. 1989 Apr 1;1(8640):725–725. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(89)92237-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Lijnen P., Hespel P., Vanden Eynde E., Amery A. Biochemical variables in plasma and urine before and after prolonged physical exercise. Enzyme. 1985;33(3):134–142. doi: 10.1159/000469422. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Marais G. E., Larson K. K. Rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure induced by combination lovastatin and gemfibrozil therapy. Ann Intern Med. 1990 Feb 1;112(3):228–230. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-112-3-228. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Maxwell J. H., Bloor C. M. Effects of conditioning on exertional rhabdomyolysis and serum creatine kinase after severe exercise. Enzyme. 1981;26(4):177–181. doi: 10.1159/000459172. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Newham D. J., Jones D. A., Edwards R. H. Plasma creatine kinase changes after eccentric and concentric contractions. Muscle Nerve. 1986 Jan;9(1):59–63. doi: 10.1002/mus.880090109. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Noakes T. D. Effect of exercise on serum enzyme activities in humans. Sports Med. 1987 Jul-Aug;4(4):245–267. doi: 10.2165/00007256-198704040-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Norman D. J., Illingworth D. R., Munson J., Hosenpud J. Myolysis and acute renal failure in a heart-transplant recipient receiving lovastatin. N Engl J Med. 1988 Jan 7;318(1):46–47. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198801073180110. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Reaven P., Witztum J. L. Lovastatin, nicotinic acid, and rhabdomyolysis. Ann Intern Med. 1988 Oct 1;109(7):597–598. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-109-7-597_2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ross J. H., Attwood E. C., Atkin G. E., Villar R. N. A study on the effects of severe repetitive exercise on serum myoglobin, creatine kinase, transaminases and lactate dehydrogenase. Q J Med. 1983 Spring;52(206):268–279. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Sabriá M., Ruibal A., Rey C., Foz M., Domenech F. M. Influence of exercise on serum levels of myoglobin measured by radioimmunoassay. Eur J Nucl Med. 1983;8(4):159–161. doi: 10.1007/BF00252887. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Walravens P. A., Greene C., Frerman F. E. Lovastatin, isoprenes, and myopathy. Lancet. 1989 Nov 4;2(8671):1097–1098. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(89)91108-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Western Journal of Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES