# Statins: Mitochondrial Function and Aerobic Capacity

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · $607,983

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
More than 40 million Americans currently take statins for the treatment or prevention of hyperlipidemia and
cardiovascular disease (CVD). Statin therapy is not without risk. Complications include mild to moderate
skeletal muscle adverse reactions, with reported incidence as high as 25%. In addition, statins have been
shown to worsen insulin resistance and increase risk for type 2 diabetes. Disturbances in mitochondrial
respiratory function have been implicated as a causal factor in these pathologies, but studies to test these
potential links have not been conducted in human subjects undergoing statin therapy. Patients taking
statins are also commonly advised to exercise regularly to further lower the risk for metabolic and
cardiovascular disease. However, recent evidence suggests that statins can impair important exercise
adaptations, and that this, again, may occur as a result of statins negatively impacting mitochondria in
skeletal muscle. In summary, understanding how long-term statin therapy affects mitochondrial function in
skeletal muscle is extremely important clinically, given the critical role skeletal muscle plays in maintaining
metabolic and cardiovascular health. Therefore, the objectives of this application are to determine the
impact of statin therapy on skeletal muscle mitochondrial function, cardiorespiratory fitness, and
metabolism in humans. Aim 1 will use a longitudinal, repeated measures design to test impact of placebo,
20, and 80 mg/day of atorvastatin therapy on skeletal muscle mitochondrial function, insulin sensitivity,
and cardiorespiratory fitness. Aim 2 will determine whether 20 and 80 mg/day of atorvastatin differentially
blunt the mitochondrial, metabolic, and cardiorespiratory adaptations to aerobic exercise training. State-of-
the-art human studies will be conducted in collaboration between two institutions and will include:
comprehensive evaluation of mitochondrial function and content, insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular
function, and cardiorespiratory fitness. These studies will provide mechanistic data on statin effects in-
vivo and improve clinical knowledge of the cost-to-benefit ratio of statin therapy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9965646
- **Project number:** 5R01AR071263-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** P Darrell Neufer
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $607,983
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-07-20 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9965646

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9965646, Statins: Mitochondrial Function and Aerobic Capacity (5R01AR071263-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9965646. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*