Pleiotropic Effects of Statins

Statins are the most commonly prescribed drugs worldwide, are cholesterol lowering agents used to manage and prevent cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases. Recently a multifaceted actions in different physiological and pathological conditions has been also proposed for statins such as antiiflammation, neuroprotection etc. Statins have been shown to act through cholesterol dependant & independent mechanisms which are able to affect several tissue functions and modulate specific signal transduction pathways. Here we review the pharmacology of statins, providing a comprehensive update of the current knowledge of their effects on tissues, biological processes & pathological conditions; but statins are now becoming recognized as powerful anti-inflammatory agents that exert beneficial effects beyond low density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction.