Statins: Do They Aggravate or Ameliorate Neuropathic Pain?

Dose-related neuropathic and anti-neuropathic effects of simvastatin in vincristine-induced neuropathic pain in rats

“…On the other hand, statins are therapeutically employed in patients for cholesterol reduction. Therefore, it may be hypothesised that the reduction in cholesterol levels may be one of the possible contributing factors in neuropathy induction in clinical studies (Bhalla et al, 2014). Cholesterol is an important component of cell membrane and is critically involved in cell membrane synthesis and cell membrane function.…”

Are perioperative therapeutic doses of statins associated with postoperative pain and opioid consumption after hip surgery under spinal anaesthesia?

“…23 24 These effects seem to be associated with enhanced activity of caspases and pro-apoptotic factors and destruction of elements of the neuronal network in lieu of less available cholesterol for the proper functioning of neurones. 23 25 26 Given the widespread use of statins, our goal was to determine whether or not statins were independently associated with decreased postoperative pain and opioid consumption. We chose hip replacement surgery under spinal anaesthesia to ensure continuous use of statins perioperatively and to reduce confounding effects of regional anaesthesia or intraoperative opioid use.…”

Perioperative statins surgery and postoperative pain

“…Animal neuropathy models demonstrate that statins can also reduce neuropathic pain. 7 A number of animal studies have reported analgesic effects with high-dose statins (5-300 mg kg À1 ), although these are much larger doses than those routinely used in clinical practice (Table 1). Animal models have employed carrageenan-, formaldehyde-, acetic acid-and formalininduced pain in both rats and mice.…”