reductase

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that that's found in all the cells in your body. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly. But if you have too much of it in your blood, it can stick to the walls of your arteries and narrow or even block them. This puts you at risk for coronary artery disease and other heart diseases.

Cholesterol is made by your liver. It travels through the blood on proteins called lipoproteins. One type of lipoprotein, LDL, is sometimes called the "bad" cholesterol. A high LDL level leads to a buildup of cholesterol in your arteries. Another type, HDL, is sometimes called the "good" cholesterol. It carries cholesterol from other parts of your body back to your liver. Then your liver removes the cholesterol from your body.

Statins are a type of cholesterol medicine. Your health care provider may prescribe them if you have high cholesterol and making lifestyle changes does not lower your cholesterol enough. Statins are the most common medicines used to treat high cholesterol.

Statins lower LDL cholesterol by slowing down how much cholesterol the liver makes. They also increase your liver's ability to remove LDL cholesterol that is already in the blood. This can slow the formation of plaques in your arteries. Studies have shown that statins lower the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with high LDL cholesterol.

Statins can lower your triglyceride level as well. Triglycerides are another type of fat in your blood that can raise the risk of heart disease. Statins may also increase your HDL cholesterol.

Statins usually don't cause side effects, but they may raise the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, this mainly happens in people already at high risk of diabetes, such as those who are overweight or have obesity, prediabetes, or metabolic syndrome.

Statins may also cause abnormal results on liver enzymes tests, but actual liver damage is very rare. Another uncommon side effect is muscle damage. In rare cases, this muscle damage can lead to muscle pain and kidney damage.

You should not take statins if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. They are also not recommended for people who have certain types of liver disease.

To safely take statins, you should:

• Take your statin as prescribed. You should not stop taking this medicine on your own, since that can lead to a serious problem or, in rare cases, even cause death. Talk to your provider if you have any concerns about your statin or if you would like to stop or change to a different treatment.
• Ask your provider which other medicines, supplements, or foods you should avoid. Some of these can interact with statins and cause serious side effects or make statins less effective. For example, grapefruit (fresh or as juice) affects how your liver breaks down some statins.
• Tell your provider about any symptoms or side effects you are having. Sometimes, people report muscle problems while taking statins. If you start having muscle pain, your provider may order a blood test to look look for muscle damage. The pain may go away if you switch to a different statin. Muscle damage with statins is rare, and your muscles may heal when you switch to a different medicine.

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that that's found in all the cells in your body. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly. But if you have too much of it in your blood, it can stick to the walls of your arteries and narrow or even block them. This puts you at risk for coronary artery disease and other heart diseases.

Cholesterol is made by your liver. It travels through the blood on proteins called lipoproteins. One type of lipoprotein, LDL, is sometimes called the "bad" cholesterol. A high LDL level leads to a buildup of cholesterol in your arteries. Another type, HDL, is sometimes called the "good" cholesterol. It carries cholesterol from other parts of your body back to your liver. Then your liver removes the cholesterol from your body.

If you have high cholesterol, lifestyle changes can help you lower your cholesterol levels. But sometimes the lifestyle changes are not enough, and you need to take cholesterol medicines. But you should still continue with the lifestyle changes even though you are taking medicines.

Your health care provider may prescribe cholesterol medicines for you if:

• You have already had a heart attack or stroke, or you have peripheral arterial disease
• Your LDL (bad) cholesterol level is 190 mg/dL or higher
• You are 40-75 years old, you have diabetes, and your LDL cholesterol level is 70 mg/dL or higher
• You are 40-75 years old, you have a high risk of developing heart disease or stroke, and your LDL cholesterol level is 70 mg/dL or higher

There are several types of cholesterol-lowering drugs available, including:

• Statins. They reduce the amount of cholesterol made in the liver. They also increase your liver's ability to remove LDL cholesterol that is already in the blood. Statins are the most common medicines used to treat high cholesterol.
• Bile acid sequestrants. They keep bile acids, which digest fats and oils, from being absorbed into the body. But your body needs bile acids, so your liver will make more of them. It makes them by breaking down LDL cholesterol, so this helps lower your LDL cholesterol. Your provider may prescribe these medicines if you cannot take statins or if statins alone are not lowering your cholesterol enough.
• Cholesterol absorption inhibitors. They block how cholesterol is absorbed into the body. They are also used if you cannot take statins or if statins alone are not lowering your cholesterol enough.
• Nicotinic acid (niacin). It is a type of B vitamin. It reduces the amount of fats made by your liver, so it lowers your LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Niacin also raises HDL cholesterol. Even though you can buy niacin without a prescription, you should talk to your provider before taking it to lower your cholesterol. High doses of niacin can cause serious side effects.
• PCSK9 inhibitors. These are medicines that you inject under your skin. They block a protein called PCSK9. This helps your liver remove and clear LDL cholesterol from your blood. Your provider may prescribe a PCSK9 inhibitor and a statin if you are at high risk of complications like heart attack or stroke, or if you have familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). FH is an inherited disorder that causes very high levels of cholesterol in the blood.
• Fibrates. They lower triglycerides in several complex ways, including reducing the amount of triglycerides made by the liver. They may also help increase HDL cholesterol and may lower LDL levels a bit. If you take them with statins, it might increase the risk of side effects.
• Combination medicines. They include more than one type of cholesterol-lowering medicine. There are also combination medicines that can treat both high blood pressure and cholesterol.

There are also a few other cholesterol medicines (lomitapide and mipomersen) that are only for people who have FH.

When deciding which medicine you should take and which dose you need, your provider will consider:

• Your cholesterol levels.
• Your risk for heart disease and stroke.
• Your age.
• Any other health problems you have.
• Possible side effects of the medicines. Higher doses are more likely to cause side effects, especially over time.

Medicines can help control your cholesterol, but they don't cure it. You need to keep taking your medicines and get regular cholesterol checks to make sure that your cholesterol levels are in a healthy range.

Your endocrine system includes eight major glands throughout your body. These glands make hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers. They travel through your bloodstream to tissues or organs. Hormones work slowly and affect body processes from head to toe. These include:

• Growth and development
• Metabolism - digestion, elimination, breathing, blood circulation and maintaining body temperature
• Sexual function
• Reproduction
• Mood

If your hormone levels are too high or too low, you may have a hormone disorder. Hormone diseases also occur if your body does not respond to hormones the way it is supposed to. Stress, infection and changes in your blood's fluid and electrolyte balance can also influence hormone levels.

In the United States, the most common endocrine disease is diabetes. There are many others. They are usually treated by controlling how much hormone your body makes. Hormone supplements can help if the problem is too little of a hormone.

Dystonia is a movement disorder that causes involuntary contractions of your muscles. These contractions result in twisting and repetitive movements. Sometimes they are painful.

Dystonia can affect just one muscle, a group of muscles or all of your muscles. Symptoms can include tremors, voice problems or a dragging foot. Symptoms often start in childhood. They can also start in the late teens or early adulthood. Some cases worsen over time. Others are mild.

Some people inherit dystonia. Others have it because of another disease. Researchers think that dystonia may be due to a problem in the part of the brain that handles messages about muscle contractions. There is no cure. Doctors use medicines, Botox injections, surgery, physical therapy, and other treatments to reduce or eliminate muscle spasms and pain.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Movement disorders are neurologic conditions that cause problems with movement, such as:

• Increased movement that can be voluntary (intentional) or involuntary (unintended)
• Decreased or slow voluntary movement

There are many different movement disorders. Some of the more common types include:

• Ataxia, the loss of muscle coordination
• Dystonia, in which involuntary contractions of your muscles cause twisting and repetitive movements. The movements can be painful.
• Huntington's disease, an inherited disease that causes nerve cells in certain parts of the brain to waste away. This includes the nerve cells that help to control voluntary movement.
• Parkinson's disease, which is disorder that slowly gets worse over time. It causes tremors, slowness of movement, and trouble walking.
• Tourette syndrome, a condition which causes people to make sudden twitches, movements, or sounds (tics)
• Tremor and essential tremor, which cause involuntary trembling or shaking movements. The movements may be in one or more parts of your body.

Causes of movement disorders include:

• Genetics
• Infections
• Medicines
• Damage to the brain, spinal cord, or peripheral nerves
• Metabolic disorders
• Stroke and vascular diseases
• Toxins

Treatment varies by disorder. Medicines can cure some disorders. Others get better when an underlying disease is treated. Often, however, there is no cure. In that case, the goal of treatment is to improve symptoms and relieve pain.