Boys Adrift, Low Testosterone and Statins

[flacorps]

I recently heard a radio show where the host interviewed the author of a book called "Boys Adrift" that explores unmotivated boys versus motivated girls, a phenomena sweeping the developed world and virtually unknown in the developing world.

One of the author's five theses was that environmental chemicals and hormones in food could be responsible for a loss of testosterone and motivation among boys.

I think a possibility that he might have overlooked would be the effect of statins used by either mother or father of the children. The mother could be especially important since she both carries and nurses the child, but sperm could be affected too.

We know that DES affects male children in the second generation (their mother's mother took it). Cholesterol is necessary for testosterone production, and statins interfere with how the body metabolizes nutrients to produce it.

I think some studies are needed to determine whether our male children are suffering from statins used by their parents. Conversely, we may want to look at whether female children are changed in ways that make them more confident, competitive or what-have-you. Not all side effects are bad ... the more we learn, the more we can make good choices.

[flacorps]

Sometime after hearing the radio program I saw a [i]Nova[/i] episode that explored [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics]Epigenetics[/url].

Looking at my old post here, a light bulb just went on.

Epigenetics basically describes how the RNA strands that surround DNA can loosen and tighten in response to environmental factors, changing the expression of genes (essentially turning traits on and off for particular cells).

That being said, it's quite possible statins are having an epigenetic effect that reaches into subsequent generations. And this effect could, of course, also be affecting mitochondrial DNA. [/url]

[adec]

I appreciate for the heads-up on the book, but especially the Nova special. Epigenetics is obviously a very complex subject. I have been experimenting with these ideas and solutions for a while.

I personally believe that (especially over longish periods of time) statins main mode of action further acts as an attributable contributor to mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to epigenetic failures. Statins not only create defects in heme production, but more importantly purine and pyrimidine metabolism. Purine and pyrimidine are the very precursors of DNA and RNA in all living cells. These metabolism defects have long since been established as direct causes of human diseases.

So... statins most definitely may affect mitochondrial DNA replication, transcription, the transport of macromolecules and nutrients in/out of the mitochondria. Eventually this leads to RNA transcription errors. The symptom of mitochondrial disease seem to correlate very nicely with not only purine and pyrmidine metabolism deficits but with statin-induced disorders as well. And the list of diseases itself is literally staggering in scope.