Pleiotropy (drugs) Pleiotropy (drugs) In pharmacology, pleiotropy includes all of a drug's actions other than those for which the agent was specifically developed. It may include adverse effects which are detrimental ones, but is often used to denote additional beneficial effects. For example, statins are HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors that primarily act by decreasing cholesterol synthesis, but which are believed to have other beneficial effects, including acting as antioxidants and stabilizing atherosclerotic plaques. Steroid drugs, such as prednisone and prednisolone, have pleiotropic effects, including systemic ones, for the same reason that endogenous steroid hormones do too: cells throughout the body have receptors that
Discovery and development of statins 3R,5R stereochemistry. The statins differ with respect to their ring structure and substituents. These differences in structure affect the pharmacological properties of the statins, such as: Statins have sometimes been grouped into two groups of statins according to their structure. Type 1 statins Statins that have substituted decalin-ring structure that resemble the first statin ever discovered, mevastatin have often been classified as type 1 statins due to their structural relationship. Statins that belong to this group are: Type 2 statins Statins that are fully synthetic and have larger groups linked to the HMG-like moiety are often referred to as type