Risks Seen in Cholesterol Drug Use in Healthy People

[babylonsister]

Risks Seen in Cholesterol Drug Use in Healthy People
By DUFF WILSON
Published: March 30, 2010


With the government’s blessing, a drug giant is about to expand the market for its blockbuster cholesterol medication Crestor to a new category of customers: as a preventive measure for millions of people who do not have cholesterol problems.

Some medical experts question whether this is a healthy move.

They point to mounting concern that cholesterol medications — known as statins and already the most widely prescribed drugs in the United States — may not be as safe a preventive medicine as previously believed for people who are at low risk of heart attacks or strokes.

Statins have been credited with saving thousands of lives every year with relatively few side effects, and some medical experts endorse the drug’s broader use. But for healthy people who would take statins largely as prevention — which would be the case for the new category of Crestor patients — other experts suggest the benefits may not outweigh any side effects.

Among the risks raising new concerns, recently published evidence indicates that statins could raise a person’s risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 9 percent.

“It’s a good thing to be skeptical about whether there may be long-term harm from healthy people taking a drug like this,” said Dr. Mark A. Hlatky, a professor of health research and cardiovascular medicine at the Stanford University medical school.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/business/31statins.html?hp

[medeak]

1. K & R

finally! btw...doc friend had research translated from Germany that shows DIRECT cause and effect of statins and Parkinson's disease. Time for mds to stop listening to the cute pharma rep.

[TZ]

6. Yes and some of those people are living long enough to have

Parkinsons because they did not have the heart attack in their early fifties that their parents and grandparents had due to being on statins. My dad is probably only alive today because of Lipitor. So lets stop with the bashing on statins, okay? They have saved many lives.
I would like to see that research btw, correlation does not equal causation. I imagine it is more due to logentivity than to statins.

[medeak]

17. prof friend at Ohio State

is giving much literature to FDA re statin dangers. My husband's cholesterol was better eating a bowl of oatmeal daily after going off lipitor. Husband was symptomatic at age 49 of Parkinson's after 6 weeks on lipitor. He's now 57 with arteries 6 yrs younger than his age...gee...how could that be without statins! His doctor will not prescribe any statins any longer. The only US study on statins that is NOT funded by pharmaceuticals is at UC San Diego and they are heroic in my book and asking for volunteers. Maybe you can get your Dad to be part of study. Pharma wants statins to be given to CHILDREN now. Past life was spent marketing physicians...you won't believe how compliant they are if you walk in with a short skirt. Rarely do docs read any research (they don't have the time...not their fault) and rely on corporate babes who make 200k at minimum flirting and smiling and handing them free meds with pharma talking points.

[nickinSTL]

2. that's absurd

if you don't have cholesterol issues why would you take drugs for it?

I take stuff for cholesterol (though not statins), but I do have cholesterol problems. Unfortunately, some of mine are hereditary, rather than life-style related, so there's not much else I can do - not that I haven't changed my diet, and I do exercise, but that's only going to go so far.

But, if I didn't need them (I also have a family history of heart disease) I sure as heck wouldn't be taking the meds.

[babylonsister]

3. It may be absurd, but sounds like they'll be marketing Crestor

as a preventive measure to combat high cholesterol; we know how gullible people are. If their doc prescribes something, people will more than likely take it.

[samplegirl]

5. My Doctor

said he never saw a patient with High Cholesterol that followed a High Fiber Diet. If not on a high fiber diet than you should be taking fiber supplements.

[TZ]

8. You doctor is a fool

I was on a high fiber diet lost 40 lbs and weighed 112 lbs at one point. My Cholesterol? 220. Anyone who doesn't know that cholesterol is highly genetic is an idiot.

[DavidDvorkin]

13. My wife's experience has been similar

Her high cholesterol isn't due to diet or weight.

[medeak]

18. you can go to 24 and me

on internet and get full genetic testing done. It's totally confidential and amazing the info you receive. After two years we still receive more info each month. Last week they infomed us that husband...despite every family member had MI's from age 50 to 60 and very high cholesterol....did not have a genetic marker for familia high cholesterol.

[queenjane]

4. The point is to get everyone on "maintenance" drugs

Big cash cow for Big Pharma. Have everyone taking these expensive meds forever: endless revenue stream. I work in drug R&D. Most of what we do is not research on possible new and innovate meds, but "tweaking" existing meds (most about to go off patent), to find new applications for them, thus extending the patent. The purpose doesn't seem to be to cure conditions, just manage them by taking these pills forever.

[TZ]

7. Way to stereotype the industry.

I also do R+D on drugs and my company is ALWAYS looking for new methods of treatments and CURES. Also when they do additional research on their own patents its to improve the drug so that less doses are needed. How HORRID of them! :sarcasm:

[BuddhaGirl]

10. they deserve it

how many "conditions" has Big Pharma created for profit? :eyes:

[medeak]

19. like time release capsules or weekly pill

when going generic. Have to make share holders happy! ;-(

[canoeist52]

9. Crestor - all you need to know...

"Crestor, which had sales of $4.5 billion last year, will not be subject to generic competition until 2016 — and so the company has more years to benefit from expanded use of the product at name-brand prices. The drug, taken as a daily pill, sells for at least $3.50 a day, compared with only pennies a day for some generic statins."

[BuddhaGirl]

11. god forbid that anyone make lifestyle changes

when they can pop a $3.50 pill every day. It's all about the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[yellerpup]

12. Drugs for life is the mantra of Big Pharma

Did you ever notice how the rise in restless leg syndrome follows the rise in the ingestion of statins? If Crestor tips a person over into diabetes, then you are hooked (they hope) for life.

[BuddhaGirl]

14. indeed! more info at the link ;-)

http://www.cafeoflifepikespeak.com/Videos/Licensed%20To%20Pill.swf

[yellerpup]

20. LOL!

Charming satire and it couldn't be more true. I'm afraid we cued pharma in the 60s that we would ingest just about anything to change our consciousness and they absorbed the message well. I used to argue with my mother (died at 67 years old with 2K hits of Valium in the bottom of her closet) that she was drug dependent. She claimed NOT SO because they were all "valid prescriptions written by my doctor." Prescriptions are drugs. The government has enabled drug makers (Donald Rumsfeld for instance) to cash in big time not only by stamping so much of this crap (Fen-Fen anyone?) with their approval and selectively prosecuting anyone using medications that their buddies are not getting a cut of. Thanks for the animation! :hi:

[BuddhaGirl]

22. my pleasure!

:hi:

[Lucy Goosey]

15. Here's a better way to prevent high cholesterol: EXERCISE

Seriously.

[Duer 157099]

16. Jeez, just what we need, healthy people taking statins

Sheesh. Well, in 30 years perhaps they'll finally have a large enough set of numbers to know what the long term effects are.

Personally, I firmly believe that it's the *oxidation* of lipids and cholesterol that is at the root of the problem, and just lowering the cholesterol levels doesn't really address the real issue and instead probably leads to other problems.

Seems to me that a better idea would be to put the healthy population on antioxidants rather than statins!

[HuckleB]

21. Dispatch: Crestor Questions

http://www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsID.1323/news_detail.asp

[BuddhaGirl]

23. hmmmm....

[HuckleB]

24. Cartoon: The Omnipresence Of Pharma Advertising

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=4471