PJP - Common cholesterol drugs may lower death risk from COVID-19

rogerashford/iStock via Getty Images Statins, a popular class of cholesterol-lowering drugs, may also lower the risk of death from COVID-19, according to new findings. Examining data from the American Heart Association’s COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that patients taking statin medications had a 41% lower risk of in-hospital death from COVID-19. Statins' anti-inflammatory effects and binding capabilities may potentially hinder progression of COVID-19, said lead author Lori Daniels, director of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at UC San Diego Health. Statins target the ACE2 receptor, a protein on the surface of many types of cells. Last year, scientiists discovered that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, uses the same receptor to enter lung cells. Results were published in the journal PLOS ONE. Selected pharmaceutical names: Pfizer ([[PFE]] -0.5%), Merck ([[MRK]] -1.2%), Bristol-Myers Squibb ([[BMY]] -1.4%), Eli Lilly ([[LLY]] +0.7%), and Johnson

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Common cholesterol drugs may lower death risk from COVID-19