Editing Statin (section)

===Inhibiting cholesterol synthesis===
By inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, statins block the pathway for synthesizing cholesterol in the liver. This is significant because most circulating cholesterol comes from internal manufacture rather than the diet. When the liver can no longer produce cholesterol, levels of cholesterol in the blood will fall. Cholesterol synthesis appears to occur mostly at night,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Miettinen TA | title = Diurnal variation of cholesterol precursors squalene and methyl sterols in human plasma lipoproteins | journal = Journal of Lipid Research | volume = 23 | issue = 3 | pages = 466–473 | date = March 1982 | pmid = 7200504 | doi = 10.1016/S0022-2275(20)38144-X | doi-access = free | title-link = doi }}</ref> so statins with short [[half-life|half-lives]] are usually taken at night to maximize their effect. Studies have shown greater LDL and total cholesterol reductions in the short-acting [[simvastatin]] taken at night rather than the morning,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Saito Y, Yoshida S, Nakaya N, Hata Y, Goto Y | title = Comparison between morning and evening doses of simvastatin in hyperlipidemic subjects. A double-blind comparative study | journal = Arteriosclerosis and Thrombosis | volume = 11 | issue = 4 | pages = 816–826 | date = July–August 1991 | pmid = 2065035 | doi = 10.1161/01.ATV.11.4.816 | doi-access = free | title-link = doi }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Wallace A, Chinn D, Rubin G | title = Taking simvastatin in the morning compared with in the evening: randomised controlled trial | journal = BMJ | volume = 327 | issue = 7418 | pages = 788 | date = October 2003 | pmid = 14525878 | pmc = 214096 | doi = 10.1136/bmj.327.7418.788 }}</ref> but have shown no difference in the long-acting [[atorvastatin]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Cilla DD, Gibson DM, Whitfield LR, Sedman AJ | title = Pharmacodynamic effects and pharmacokinetics of atorvastatin after administration to normocholesterolemic subjects in the morning and evening | journal = Journal of Clinical Pharmacology | volume = 36 | issue = 7 | pages = 604–609 | date = July 1996 | pmid = 8844442 | doi = 10.1002/j.1552-4604.1996.tb04224.x | s2cid = 13586550 }}</ref>