Re: Cholesterol Drug Has No Benefit in Trial

On Tue, 15 Jan 2008 07:36:29 -0500, "Evelyn Ruut"
<evelyn.ruut@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"El Castor" <No_One@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:modoo31ms2b6vncts7ajb4kgm107r4tcej@xxxxxxxxxx
On Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:18:59 -0800, Rita <Rita@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:41:37 GMT, Rumpelstiltskin
<PleaseDoNotReplyByEmail@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:50:53 -0800, Rita <Rita@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:12:26 -0500, "Barry" <barry@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

How did this drug get approved for distribution?

Carelessly, apparently. I was prescribed it but took it only
for a couple of months as it produced side effects of muscle
weakness. Many cholesterol drugs do that, however.

This problem discovered is something different.

A clinical trial of Zetia, a cholesterol-lowering drug prescribed to
about 1
million people a week, failed to show that the drug has any medical
benefits, Merck and Schering-Plough said on Monday.

The results will add to the growing concern over Zetia and Vytorin, a
drug
that combines Zetia with another cholesterol medicine in a single pill.
About 70 percent of patients who take Zetia do so in the form of
Vytorin,
which combines Zetia with the cholesterol drug Zocor.

While Zetia lowers cholesterol by 15 to 20 percent in most patients, no
trial has ever shown that it can reduce heart attacks and strokes - or
even
that it reduces the growth of the fatty plaques in arteries that can
cause
heart problems.

This trial was designed to show that Zetia could reduce the growth of
those
plaques. Instead, the plaques actually grew somewhat faster in patients
taking Zetia along with Zocor than in those taking Zocor alone.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/business/14cnd-drug.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin



I'm on a cholesterol drug too. My doctor changed my
prescription by mail without telling me what the new drug
will be, so I won't find out until I get a refill. If it's Zocor,
I won't take it because I had Zocor before and had side
effects of weakened muscles. I've heard that there's no
evidence that cholesterol drugs are of any value for
older people anyway, that perhaps all they do is lower
the count without changing the mortality or heart attack
statistics. But considering how much money is involved,
I'm sure the cholesterol industry pushes as hard as they
can to sell as much of the stuff as they can.

Studies have shown the benefit to older women, and I am
almost 78 and that's old, are minimal at best. Not many
studies have addressed cholesterol and only women. We all
know men suffer more heart attacks, often at an early age,
than women.

I've read that once women go through menopause, the likelihood of
heart disease and stroke rapidly catches up to men. The theory, or
assumption, had been that HRP protected women from heart attacks, but
I guess that has been proven wrong. In any event, it looks like
statins also reduce the incidence of colon cancer by 25%, and some
other cancers by a lesser degree.

In any event, whether or not you take a statin is none of my business.
You're right, some few people have livers that react badly to statins.
I posted the report because, as I expect you know, certain ignorant
individuals in this group (who I have plonked) are so wrapped up in
their political view of the universe that they have convinced
themselves that statins are nothing more than a scheme of the evil
drug corporations. It is good to remind them now and then of what they
are likely doing to themselves, and maybe others who are on the fence
will talk to their doctors.


As I understand it, only in men have statins actually been proven to prevent
heart attacks, but in women they don't really seem to have solid research on
it yet.

Wrong. Here it is from 2001 -- and confirmed by the latest
British/Australian study.

"Reporting the results in a late-breaking session today at the
American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2001, Dr Rory Collins
(Oxford University), said this is "a most remarkable finding, across a
wide range of individuals...it will completely change the way we
practice medicine." Collins estimates that up to 200 million people
worldwide will now be eligible for statin therapy, and "even if an
extra 10 million people took them, we would save 50000 lives a year"
and prevent countless MIs and strokes. As well as the benefits seen
with regard to MI and stroke, statin treatment reduced the risk of
being hospitalized for worsening angina and the need for arterial
surgery, angioplasty, and amputations and "it also provides the first
clear evidence of benefit in women and the over-70s," Collins
commented."

In addition to substantially reducing the frequency of heart attacks
and strokes, statins also reduce the incidence of some kinds of cancer
(colon cancer by 25%), as well as the incidence of gall stones. For
the vast majority of people who don't have any liver issues, statins
are a genuine miracle drug and no-brainer.

I take it because my doctor thinks it is necessary, and a good bet
that the research will come in yet, in favor of it.

The muscle weakness brought on by statins is no fun, believe me. It lends
itself to inactivity, and the inactivity isn't good for the heart either.
I know some people have found good effects by taking alpha lipoic acid and
pantethine to reduce cholesterol, but it had little or no effect on me.

Plant sterols are also helpful, but none of the natural remedies are
in the same league with statins with the possible exception of red
yeast which is a statin. Taking red yeast, to me seems very foolish.
If you had a headache would you chew the bark of a tree or take an
aspirin? With an aspirin you know what you are getting and how much.

The only thing that really worked is a statin, so the compromise for me, has
been a lower dose of the one statin I can stand, which is Crestor. There
is a product called Red Rice Yeast, which is natural... but it turns out
that it too, is a statin, just in a natural form.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Cholesterol Drug Has No Benefit in Trial
    ... Many cholesterol drugs do that, ... A clinical trial of Zetia, a cholesterol-lowering drug prescribed to ... some few people have livers that react badly to statins. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Cholesterol Drug Has No Benefit in Trial
    ... Many cholesterol drugs do that, ... trial has ever shown that it can reduce heart attacks and strokes - or even ... some few people have livers that react badly to statins. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Cholesterol Drug Has No Benefit in Trial
    ... Many cholesterol drugs do that, ... failed to show that the drug has any medical ... that combines Zetia with another cholesterol medicine in a single ... trial has ever shown that it can reduce heart attacks and strokes - ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Cholesterol Drug Has No Benefit in Trial
    ... Many cholesterol drugs do that, ... The results will add to the growing concern over Zetia and Vytorin, a drug ... trial has ever shown that it can reduce heart attacks and strokes - or even ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Cholesterol Drug Has No Benefit in Trial
    ... Many cholesterol drugs do that, ... A clinical trial of Zetia, a cholesterol-lowering drug prescribed to about 1 ... trial has ever shown that it can reduce heart attacks and strokes - or even ...
    (soc.retirement)