Statin Therapy in Parkinson's Disease Cuts Mortality

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common progressive, systemic and incurable neurodegenerative disorder with high mortality rates and an increased risk of premature death when compared to the general population [ [1] Scorza F.A. C Fiorini A. A Scorza C. Finsterer J. Cardiac abnormalities in Parkinson's disease and Parkinsonism. J. Clin. Neurosci. 2018; 53: 1-5https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2018.04.031 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (98) Google Scholar ]. Our capability of identifying PD patients at risk for premature death is still far from being satisfactory [ [1] Scorza F.A. C Fiorini A. A Scorza C. Finsterer J. Cardiac abnormalities in Parkinson's disease and Parkinsonism. J. Clin. Neurosci. 2018; 53: 1-5https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2018.04.031 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (98) Google Scholar ]. Anyway, recent data reveal that sudden death in PD (SUDPAR), an uncommon but fatal event, contributes to the increased risk of mortality in patients with PD [ [1] Scorza F.A. C Fiorini A. A Scorza C. Finsterer J. Cardiac abnormalities in Parkinson's disease and Parkinsonism. J. Clin. Neurosci. 2018; 53: 1-5https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2018.04.031 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (98) Google Scholar ]. The mechanisms behind SUDPAR include cardiac abnormalities and autonomic dysfunction, as ∼60% of PD patients have structural and functional heart changes [ [1] Scorza F.A. C Fiorini A. A Scorza C. Finsterer J. Cardiac abnormalities in Parkinson's disease and Parkinsonism. J. Clin. Neurosci. 2018; 53: 1-5https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2018.04.031 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (98) Google Scholar ]. With these considerations in mind, we read with interest the elegant article by Lee and colleagues addressing priority issues in clinical PD research demonstrating that the use of lipophilic statins was associated with reduced PD incidence [ [2] J Lee H. Han K. Kim Y.M. Yang S.N. Yoon S.Y. Y S. Association between lipid levels and the risk of Parkinson's disease in individuals with diabetes mellitus: a nationwide population-based cohort study. Parkinsonism Relat. Disorders. 2023; 117105881https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parkreldis.2023.105881 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (0) Google Scholar ].