In the June 24 edition of the journal, Cell Metabolism, scientists report that statins (drugs used to lower cholesterol) may lower the death rate and need for ventilation for COVID-19 patients. This study also showed that the combination of statins with drugs used for lowering blood pressure (called angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB)) did not increase the mortality rate in these patients.
According to senior study author Hongliang Li of Wuhan University, "These results support the safety and potential benefits of statin therapy in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and provide a rationale for prospective studies to determine whether statins confer protection against COVID-19-associated mortality. Moreover, our findings represent an important contribution to the accumulating clinical evidence regarding the beneficial or detrimental effects of prescribing ACE inhibitors or ARBs to patients with COVID-19."
There is currently no vaccine or specific drug for treating a SARS-CoV-2 infection, and because a vaccine or other therapy is likely a year or more away, scientists are turning to known drugs to see if they may also be useful in fighting the coronavirus. Statins may fall into this category because they have shown to reduce inflammation and slow the progression of lung disease in animals.
The scientists found that after a 28-day follow-up period, the use of statins showed a lower mortality rate and less need to ventilate patients.
"Although the use of an ACE inhibitor or ARB was once speculated to be potentially harmful in patients with COVID-19, several professional societies have recommended the continued use of these drugs in patients with COVID-19 and pre-existing hypertension," Li says. "To our knowledge, the results from this study are the first clinical evidence supporting the notion that the risk of COVID-19 mortality is not increased by using ACE inhibitors or ARBs in combination with statin treatment."
It is important to realize that this study does not prove that statins lower the COVID-19 death rate. All the study participants were hospitalized patients; statins have not been tested in non-hospitalized COVID patients. As Li says, “Although these data do provide supportive evidence for the safety of statins or the combination of statins with ACE inhibitors or ARBs for treatment in patients with COVID-19, further randomized controlled trials to prospectively explore the efficacy of statins on COVID-19 outcomes appear justified."