国人为何没有发现近在咫尺的他汀？
Why didn’t Chinese people find a statin close at hand?

高胆固醇血症是心血管疾病最重要的危险因素，而他汀是全球处方量最大的降胆固醇药物。他汀类药 物抑制胆固醇合成的关节步骤，主要是通过抑制羟甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶活性，阻断甲羟戊酸的合成，从而产 生强大的降脂作用，减少心血管疾病的风险，降低死亡率。由于甲羟戊酸途径也影响血管内皮功能、炎症反应、 凝血，他汀类药物的作用远远超出其降胆固醇特性。中国在一千年前就使用含有他汀的天然药物红曲，但是为什 么他汀没有被中国人发现，值得思考。
Hypercholesterolemia is one of the most important risk factors of cardiovascular disease. And statins are the most widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs in the world. Statins can inhibit the critical step of cholesterol synthesis in which 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A is transformed into mevalonate by the enzyme HMG CoA reductase. So statins have a potent lipid-lowering effect that reduces cardiovascular risk and decreases mortality. And the mevalonate pathway also influences the endothelial function, inflammatory response, and coagulation, so the effects of statins reach well beyond their cholesterol-lowering properties. Chinese have used a natural drug monascus containing statins since a thousand years ago, so it is reasonable to think about why Chinese people have not been able to find a statin