title: Simvastatin monotherapy as a potential option for statin-associated muscle symptoms: a case report.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Choosing an alternative statin is recommended when managing statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS) and new hydrophilic statins are often suggested. We report on a case of statin-associated muscle damage that was successfully managed by simplifying the patient's combination therapy with simvastatin-ezetimibe to simvastatin alone.
  
  
  METHODS
  The patient experienced SAMS when he was successively treated with atorvastatin, rosuvastatin, Xuezhikang capsule and combined simvastatin/ezetimibe therapy. However, the patient tolerated simvastatin therapy well even at a dose of 40 mg/day.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our case suggests that patients with SAMS who are intolerant to a wide variety of statins may be successfully managed with simvastatin monotherapy.
authors.affiliation: China Heart Institute of Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.|Graduate School of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: China Heart Institute of Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.|Graduate School of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: China Heart Institute of Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.|Graduate School of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.|Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kou
authors.affiliation: China Heart Institute of Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.|Graduate School of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.|Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: H-T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: China Heart Institute of Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.|Graduate School of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.|Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: China Heart Institute of Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Z-Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: China Heart Institute of Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.|Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: D-Z
authors.initials: DZ
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D019821:Simvastatin / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D019821:Simvastatin
keywords: alternative statin; simvastatin; statin-associated muscle symptoms