Cholesterol-lowering statin medications also block the same pathway that interferon does, so it could make a good antiviral. It fact, numerous studies show it does.

The problem? Unfortunately, in addition to blocking production of cholesterol, both interferon and statins block production of other important molecules (your body makes cholesterol for a good reason). Especially important are pregnenolone and CoQ10.

So when your body has been fighting a viral infection for years by making high levels of interferon, the interferon itself will cause eventual hormone and CoQ10 deficiencies — aggravating chronic fatigue.

The study showing that interferon from viral infections blocked the cholesterol pathway is exciting. By itself, it tied in the unexplained low levels of the hormone pregnenolone we have been seen for years.

Statin (cholesterol blocking) medications, which I believe have been over-marketed to treat high cholesterol and may have caused significant toxicity by blocking the production of CoQ10 and key hormones and worsening muscle inflammation, may actually offer a lot of promise in treating that subset of chronic fatigue with viral infections.

Interestingly, osteoporosis medications called biphosphonates (e.g., Fosamax also block part of the same pathway as statins, but do so downstream. Though they have antiviral effects as well, they have a much smaller impact than statins at the dosing typically used in real life.