Dangers of Statin Drugs - Time Magazine article

Note added July 18, 2010 - Time Magazine seems to have removed the article titled "Dangers of Statin Drugs" mentioned in this blog post from their web site. Just goes to show that MSM is not really about to give any credence to other than the mainstream view of CVD and statin drug use.

Please read this very good article on the dangers of Atorvastatin, Lovastatin, Rosuvastatin, Simvastatin etc. Also known by more common names Lipitor, Mevacor, Crestor, Zocor, Vytorin. Note this is not a complete list of statin drugs. Cerivistatin or Baycol was pulled because too many people died from taking it (the ultimate side effect).

NOTE: I removed the link to the Time article because they removed the original article which I referred to and substituted another.
Here is a link to a blog that has a copy of the article you can read.

Deaths Due to Coronary Heart Disease in the Elderly

In a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, seven scientists concluded from the data that ...

" even a small increase in DTR is associated with a substantial increase in the deaths due to CHD."

In english that means that global warming has helped to significantly reduce the coronary heart disease death rate of the worlds elderly.

Read the complete study here.

"...studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease"

From The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition comes a study ending this way:

"... there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD." (emphasis mine)

This was the conclusion of Dr. Ronald Krauss one of the most prominent lipid researchers in the world according to Steven Guyenet whose Whole Health Source blog alerted me to the study.

P.S. I recommend Steven's Whole Health Source blog as an excellent source of credible evidence.

The Dirty Little Secret of the Diet-Heart Hypothesis

I constantly keep my eye out for 'Credible Evidence' related especially to my own health issues which you should be able to tell if you have read this or any of the posts on this blog, is coronary artery disease.

I have just discovered Stephan Guyenet's blog Whole Health Source. In particular a recent post titled "The Dirty Little Secret of the Diet-Heart Hypothesis" was especially interesting to me and is well presented. I recommend you read it.

I will certainly be digesting more of what Stephan posts on his blog.

The Cholesterol Theory of Heart Disease is Nonsense

Anthony Colpo who I have learned much from especially back in the days he was regularly putting out good analysis of many health items on The Omnivore.com. Here is a new newsletter I just saw published on the_omnivore@yahoogroups.com. I've provided it in full here. It is a bit long but thorough as I have found him to be. Thank You Anthony!
================================================
The Cholesterol Theory of Heart Disease is Nonsense
Posted by: "theomnivorenewsletter" ac.theomnivore@gmail.com theomnivorenewsletter
Sun Jan 3, 2010 4:30 pm (PST)


The Cholesterol Theory of Heart Disease is Nonsense

I've been telling people for years that the anti-cholesterol,
anti-saturated fat paradigm is not only nonsense but potentially
dangerous. The latest confirmation of my stance comes from two recent
studies that - in stark contrast to vigorously hyped anti-cholesterol
research – have been ignored by the mainstream health media.

The most recent of these studies was published in the November 15, 2009
issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The ARBITER 6–HALTS
trial compared the effects of two combination therapies - either
ezetimibe+statins or niacin+statins - on carotid intima-media thickness
over a 14-month period. Measurement of carotid artery intima-media
thickness is used to indicate the extent of atherosclerosis and for
assessing cardiovascular risk.

All of the 363 subjects enrolled in the trial were already taking
cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. Statin drugs have become the darlings
of the medical establishment due to their ability to lower both total
and LDL cholesterol, while ezetimibe has become a popular adjunct to
statin treatment thanks to its LDL-lowering actions. The subjects were
randomly assigned to receive either extended-release niacin at a target
dose of 2000 mg per day or ezetimibe at a dose of 10 mg per day. The
niacin was increased from an initial dose of 500 mg at bedtime, by 500
mg every other week, to the maximum tolerated dose (up to 2000 mg at
bedtime).

The subjects were men and women (mean age 65) with atherosclerotic
cardiovascular disease or a coronary heart disease (CHD) risk
equivalent, including diabetes, a 10-year Framingham risk score of 20%
or more, or a coronary calcium score above 200 for women or 400 for men.

A total of 208 patients had completed 14 months of treatment when the
study was called to a halt. Initial LDL levels were similar in both
groups, but etezimibe produced greater reductions in LDL than niacin
(-17.6 mg/dl vs -10.0 mg/dl). If you believe the relentless barrage of
anti-LDL propaganda emanating from our ever-so-wise, impartial,
objective and totally incorruptible health authorities, then this should
have produced greater improvements in the etezimibe group.

But it didn't.

When the data was analyzed, it was observed that niacin produced a
significant reduction in carotid intima-media thickness at both 8 and 14
months. No significant overall change in carotid intima-media thickness
was seen with ezetimibe.

The researchers did however find a significant inverse relationship
between changes in LDL cholesterol and carotid intima-media thickness in
the ezetimibe group, such that a "paradoxical" increase in the
carotid intima-media thickness was seen in patients with greater
reductions in LDL cholesterol (rather than simply acknowledge the
cholesterol theory is bollocks, researchers invariably label any and
every uncomfortable contradiction to this theory a "paradox").

Major adverse cardiovascular events also occurred at a significantly
greater rate in the ezetimibe group (9 of 165 patients [5%]) than in the
niacin group (2 of 160 patients [1%]).

A peek at the dropout data also reveals some interesting findings. Among
363 patients enrolled in the trial, 44 had left the study by the time it
was terminated on June 4, 2009: 16 of 176 (9%) in the ezetimibe group
(of whom 9 had been withdrawn and 7 had died) and 28 of 187 (15%) in the
niacin group (of whom 27 had been withdrawn and 1 had died). Adverse
drug effects were cited as the reason for withdrawal in 3 of 9 patients
receiving ezetimibe and 17 of 27 patients receiving niacin. The
well-known side effect of flushing was reported in 36% of patients in
the niacin group[1].

Bottom line: Ezetimibe produced greater reductions in LDL cholesterol
(the so-called "bad" cholesterol) but resulted in no overall
improvement in carotid intima-media thickness, while individual results
showed greater thickening with greater LDL reductions. The use of
etezimibe was also accompanied by a higher number of heart attacks and
deaths.

Yep, the "paradoxes" flowed thick and fast in this study. Of
course, those of you who have read The Great Cholesterol Con will know
that there was absolutely nothing paradoxical about these findings –
the cholesterol theory is, and always has been, utter nonsense.

So Popular But So Useless

This is hardly the first time ezetimibe has shown itself to be a dud.
The SANDS trial, examining type 2 diabetic American Indians, found that ,
ezetimibe plus statins produced no greater improvement in carotid
intima-media thickness than statins alone[2].

In the Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis (SEAS) trial, 1873
patients with mild-to-moderate, asymptomatic aortic stenosis (abnormal
narrowing of the heart's aortic valve) received either 40 mg of
simvastatin plus 10 mg of ezetimibe or placebo daily. During a follow-up
of 52.2 months, simvastatin and ezetimibe, as compared with placebo, did
not reduce the composite outcome of combined aortic valve events and
ischemic events in patients with aortic stenosis.

The simvastatin–ezetimibe group did however experience something
that the placebo group did not: an increased cancer risk. A
statistically significant excess of incident cancers was observed in the
simvastatin– ezetimibe group, with 105 in that group as compared
with 70 in the placebo group. In addition, deaths from cancer were more
frequent in the simvastatin– ezetimibe group (39 deaths vs. 23 in
the placebo group). There was also a significant increase in the number
of patients with elevated liver enzyme levels in the
simvastatin–ezetimibe group[3].

Increased cancer risk from cholesterol-lowering drugs has been observed
previously. In the PROSPER study featuring elderly subjects - the
demographic in whom you would most likely expect an increased cancer
risk to manifest itself during the relatively short duration of a
clinical trial - an increased mortality from malignant causes among
those taking pravastatin negated the reduction in cardiovascular
deaths[4]. Etezimibe, meanwhile, inhibits the absorption of phytosterols
and other phytonutrients linked to protection against cancer[5].

The ENHANCE trial was a double-blind, randomized, 24-month endeavour
comparing the effects of 80 mg of simvastatin combined with either with
placebo or with 10 mg of ezetimibe daily in 720 patients with familial
hypercholesterolemia. Mean levels of LDL cholesterol decreased from
317.8 mg/dl per to 192.7 mg/dl in the simvastatin-only group and from
319.0 mg/dl to 141.3 mg/dl in the combined-therapy group. Despite their
significantly greater decrease in LDL levels, the simvastatin+ ezetimibe
group experienced no statistically significant greater decrease in
carotid intima-media thickness.

Nor was there any advantage in incidence of regression in mean
carotid-artery intima–media thickness or new plaque formation. No
significant change was observed in mean maximum carotid-artery
intima–media thickness, mean measures of the intima–media
thickness of the common carotid artery, the carotid bulb, the internal
carotid artery, the femoral artery, nor in the average of the mean
values for intima–media thickness in the carotid and femoral
arteries. Investigator-reported cardiovascular events were noted in
seven patients in the simvastatin group (including 1 death from a
cardiovascular cause, 2 nonfatal myocardial infarctions, 1 nonfatal
stroke, and 5 coronary revascularization procedures) and in 10 patients
in the combined-therapy group (including 2 deaths from cardiovascular
causes, 3 nonfatal myocardial infarctions, 1 nonfatal stroke, and 6
coronary revascularizations)[6].

Since its introduction in 2002, ezetimibe has become the primary adjunct
to statins for reducing "elevated" LDL. This is despite the fact
that it has so far shown itself to be totally incapable of actually
producing any meaningful health benefit for the people who take it. In
today's bizarro drug company-owned health arena, where cholesterol
reduction has become a sacred end in itself, a woeful inability to
reduce heart attack or death is swept aside as a minor inconvenience.
There's money to be made in them thar lipid-lowering drugs, to hell
with any profit-destroying notion that they are largely a waste of time
and money…

WHO Says the Saturated Fat Theory is Garbage?

A recent special issue of Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism was devoted
to "Fats and Fatty Acids in Human Nutrition". This issue was the
result of a joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation held in Geneva, November
2008 and contains "the background papers which have been prepared by
a panel of carefully selected experts and have served as the basis for
the updated dietary recommendations of FAO and WHO"[7]

One of the papers presented in this special report was a sweeping review
of both prospective epidemiological studies and clinical trials
examining the relationship between dietary fat and CHD[8]. This review
was conducted by researchers from the Department of Human Nutrition at
the University of Otago, Dunedin , New Zealand.

I must confess that when I initially pulled up the PDF of this study
(which you can freely access from the link below), I was fully expecting
more of the same old fat- and cholesterol-phobic hoopla that has
regrettably characterized public health recommendations for almost half
a century. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, pleasantly
shocked is a more fitting description. Despite being published under the
auspices of one of the world's largest health organizations, the
report actually tells…the truth!

After examining 28 prospective epidemiological studies, the researchers
reported that:

"Intake of total fat was not significantly associated with CHD
mortality..." (p. 175)

"Intake of total fat was also unrelated to CHD events..." (p. 175)

"Intake of TFA [trans fatty acids] was strongly associated with CHD
mortality..." (p. 181)

"Intake of SFA [saturated fatty acids] was not significantly associated
with CHD mortality...

Similarly SFA intake was not significantly associated CHD events..." (p.
181)

Their pooled analysis of data from randomized controlled clinical trials
showed:

"...fatal CHD was not reduced by either the low-fat diets... or the high
P/S diets [diets high in polyunsaturated fats and low in saturated fats]
...". (p. 188)

On page 193, they conclude:
"There is probably no direct relation between total fat intake and risk
of CHD."

If you were expecting this rare gem of health authority-sanctioned
honesty and factual reporting to be reflected in said health
authority's dietary recommendations to the public, then you clearly
know little about the mechanics of these anachronistic juggernauts.
Maintaining the status quo is a self-serving activity of utmost
importance to reigning orthodoxies. Changes to currently accepted diet
and health recommendations occur almost imperceptibly over time, as
small modifications that "advance" the current body of knowledge
but never upset the underlying foundational dogma itself. Such
modifications typically include the inclusion of politically acceptable
discoveries (such as the cardiovascular benefits of omega-3 fatty acids
from fish and fish oils). However, the wholesale embrace of politically
incorrect findings is unthinkable. As such, the world's health
authorities continue to preach the kind of nonsense that rational minds
would associate with the ignorant, superstitious thinking of the Dark
Ages. Such nonsense includes the belief that cholesterol, an essential
life-sustaining substance that Mother Nature saw fit to include in the
membranes of all our cells, to protect our nervous systems, and to use
as the basis for production of our most important hormones, is in fact
toxic and must be lowered at all costs.

And so it is in this case: despite the conclusions of the aforementioned
review, WHO are still currently preaching the same old
anti-cholesterol/anti-saturate hogwash in their CHD prevention
guidelines[9].

Where's Your Head at?

Some of you reading this will do further investigation and will conclude
of your own volition that what I have reported above is factual. Some of
you will be confused and will not know what to make of what I have just
reported; it sounds compelling but at the same time you have great
difficulty accepting that so many "prestigious" health
authorities, government bodies, medical associations, doctors,
journalists, authors, and numerous other assorted talking heads could be
so wrong. Such a mindset reveals a rather naïve understanding of
human nature. No matter how prestigious and well-funded the organization
or profession, it is still comprised of fallible human individuals with
a deep-rooted evolutionary-programmed tendency to follow the herd and
subscribe to groupthink.

A minority of readers will even become angry at what I have just
written, offended by my temerity to report facts which so blatantly
contradict what they have come to believe. My response to those who fall
into this category is…too bad. After years of coming under attack
from the disgruntled worshippers of various scientifically untenable
nutrition paradigms, I'm totally over trying to reason with the
unreasonable. My aim is simply to relay research findings to those who
may find the information useful, not to pander to the fragile
sensibilities of those who attain emotional solace in certain diet and
health beliefs.

Life, if you allow it to be so, is a fascinating voyage of continual
discovery. If you wish to make any meaningful progress during this
voyage, you will frequently need to re-examine beliefs that you have
become comfortable with, and you must be prepared to discard these
beliefs if the evidence dictates.

For those prepared to do this, and who would like to further examine the
contrarian side of the cholesterol story, may I recommend the following
resources:

1. The Great Cholesterol Con by yours truly. Yes, it's my
own book and after years of extensive research and effort I would
of course be expected to gush on about what a wonderfully
ground-breaking, enlightening and beneficial tome it constitutes.
So don't listen to me; check out the non-partisan reviews by
Amazon customers and folks like Chris Masterjohn, who considers the book
"the most well-written and well-researched book on the
"skeptic" side of the debate":

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Anthony-Colpo-Great-Cholesterol-Co\
n.html


A review of TGCC by Joel Kauffman can be viewed here:

http://www.jpands.org/vol11no4/bookreviews.pdf


The Amazon page for The Great Cholesterol Con can be found here:

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Cholesterol-Con-Anthony-Colpo/dp/1430309334


Those of you looking to save some money and wanting instant access to
the book can get an ebook version here:

http://www.thegreatcholesterolcon.com/


NOTE: To those of you who purchase my book (or already have it), please
read Chapter 22 – over and over. Judging by the reviews and comments
I have read about my book, that chapter appears to be overlooked by many
readers. Yet if you are truly serious about preventing coronary heart
disease, it contains the most valuable information you may ever come
across.

1. My freely available article on LDL cholesterol, which appeared in
the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons:
http://www.jpands.org/vol10no3/colpo.pdf


Also a letter of criticism and my reply:
http://www.jpands.org/vol11no1/correspondence.pdf


1. Fat and Cholesterol are Good for You by Uffe Ravnskov. Don't
be fooled by the Atkins-like title; Uffe is a serious and
meticulous researcher with dozens of peer-reviewed research papers
to his name. I consider his writings essential reading for anyone
interested in the cholesterol debate. His book can be obtained
here:
http://www.amazon.com/Fat-Cholesterol-are-Good-You/dp/919755538X/ref=pd_\
sim_b_2


Uffe also heads a group called THINCS, whose website contains various
articles and links to resources articulating skeptical views of the
cholesterol theory:
http://www.thincs.org/

The website contains some great information; the page devoted to
unpublished correspondence (critical letters that were knocked back by
the journals they were submitted to) makes for especially
interesting reading. Please note this does not constitute a blanket
endorsement by myself of THINCS – while I find myself agreeing
with almost everything Uffe writes, I don't agree with some of
the assertions made by certain other THINCS members/contributors. I
would urge readers to be especially wary of authors who make
untenable claims about the superiority of isocaloric low-carb diets
for weight loss (claims that have been repeatedly disproved in
tightly controlled ward studies), and those who claim to have
discovered a single unifying cause of CHD whilst ignoring the critical
role of such factors as bodily iron stores, nutrition (especially
refined carbohydrate intake), vitamin and mineral status (most
notably magnesium), infectious disease, omega-3:omega-6 status,
physical activity, obesity, and/or stress.

2. Statin Drugs Side Effects and the Misguided War on Cholesterol by
Duane `Spacedoc' Graveline. This former astronaut and
physician was a key figure in alerting the public to the
little-known statin side effect of transient memory loss, which has
since been the subject of peer-reviewed articles and case reports.
Those who are being cajoled by their doctors to begin statin drug
use would be well advised to read this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Statin-Drugs-Effects-Misguided-Cholesterol/dp/0970\
081790


All the best,

Anthony Colpo.

References

1. Taylor AJ, et al. Extended-release niacin or ezetimibe and
carotid intima-media thickness. New England Journal of Medicine,
Nov 26, 2009; 361 (22): 2113-2122.
2. Fleg JL, et al. Effect of Statins Alone Versus Statins Plus
Ezetimibe on Carotid Atherosclerosis in Type 2 Diabetes. The SANDS
(Stop Atherosclerosis in Native Diabetics Study) Trial. Journal of
the American College of Cardiology, 2008; 52: 2198-2205.
http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/reprint/j.jacc.2008.10.031v1.pdf

3. Rossebø AB, et al. Intensive lipid lowering with
simvastatin and ezetimibe in aortic stenosis. New England Joural of
Medicine, 2008; 359: 1343-1356.
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/359/13/1343.pdf

4. Shepherd J, et al. PROspective Study of Pravastatin in the
Elderly at Risk. Pravastatin in elderly individuals at risk of
vascular disease (PROSPER): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet,
2002; 360: 1623-1630.
5. Bradford PG, Awad AB. Phytosterols as anticancer compounds.
Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 2007; 51: 161-170.
6. Kastelein JJ, et al. Simvastatin with or without ezetimibe in
familial hypercholesterolemia. New England Joural of Medicine, Apr.
3, 2008; 358 (14): 1431-1443.
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/358/14/1431.pdf

7. Fats and Fatty Acids in Human Nutrition. Annals of Nutrition and
Metabolism, 2009; 55 (1-3). Available online:
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=showproducts&se\
archWhat=books&ProduktNr=251867

8. Skeaff MC, Miller J. Dietary Fat and Coronary Heart Disease:
Summary of Evidence from Prospective Cohort and Randomised
Controlled Trials. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2009; 55:
173–201.
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowPDF&Artikel\
Nr=229002&Ausgabe=250361&ProduktNr=223977&filename=229002.pdf

9. http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/AC911E/ac911e07.htm#bm07.4.3


**CORRESPONDENCE POLICY - PLEASE READ BEFORE EMAILING**
Comments and questions from readers are always welcome, but due to time
constraints a response cannot be guaranteed. If you find lack of
response to your correspondence offensive, please don't write. Emails
with offensive, argumentative, hostile or imbecilic content will be
ignored.

**DISCLAIMER**
The information in this email is for information purposes only and is
not to be construed as medical advice. The author accepts no liability
for any harm , real or imagined, associated with the use of this
information.

Low Cholesterol Levels Associated With Increased Mortality - Again!

It's never bad to get a Second Opinion especially when it comes to cholesterol with the hype and mis-information surrounding the topic. Barry Grover helps with this article. Please read the complete article here.

Watch Dr Meade interview Dr Duane Graveline on statin drugs and Cholesterol

Watch part one and part two of this video on Inside Medicine titled Myths on Cholesterol wherein Dr Meade an orthopedic surgeon interviews the SpaceDoc - Dr Duane Graveline.

Dr John Briffa on ezetimibe (Zetia)

More bad news for the makers (and takers) of cholesterol-reducing drug ezetimibe (Zetia) http://www.drbriffa.com

Posted By Dr John Briffa On November 16, 2009

Previously, I have written about the drug combination of simvastatin and ezetimibe (sold as Vytorin in the US). Both of these drugs reduce cholesterol, but through different mechanisms. Taken together, these drugs do do a good job of reducing cholesterol levels And we all know that the lower we get the cholesterol levels down the better, right? Well, actually, results show that Vytorin [1] did not work to halt the progression of the ‘plaques’ that gum up arteries and can precipitate heart attacks and strokes.

And then another thing is that giving people simvastatin and ezetimibe is associated with an increased risk of [2] death due to cancer. This finding was inexplicably waved away by scientists as a [3] chance finding (even though the statistics showed that the finding was very unlikely to be due to chance).

Anyway, this week sees more bad news for the manufacturers of Vytorin and also those who take it. The New England Journal of Medicine has just published a study in which individuals on a statin were additionally treated with ezetimibe or niacin (vitamin B3) over 14 months [1]. All of the individuals in the trial had either been diagnosed with heart disease or were deemed to be at high risk of this condition.

The researchers measured a number of parameters including:

LDL-cholesterol (a form of cholesterol said to be associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease)

HDL-cholesterol (a form of cholesterol said to be associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease)

Triglyceride levels (a form of blood fat said to be associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease)

Carotid artery intima thickness (the thickness of the wall of the major blood vessel supplying blood to the head – increased thickness is generally taken as a sign of worsening cardiovascular disease risk)

In the group taking a statin and ezetimibe, LDL, HDL and triglyceride levels went down.

In the group taking a statin and niacin, LDL and triglyceride levels went down, and HDL levels went up.

On paper, at this point, the group taking the niacin and statin fared better. However, more important than these results were those relating to the carotid artery intima thickness. Guess what? The group taking the niacin did better than the group taking ezetimibe on this score too.

One other outcome the researchers kept tabs on was ‘major cardiovascular events’ such as heart attacks and strokes. Here again, the niacin group fared better – 1 per cent of them had such an event compared to 5 per cent in the group taking ezetimibe.

The New York Times reports [4] here that Dr Peter Kim, the president of Merck Research Laboratories (makers of ezetimibe) claimed that the study was limited because it did not compare the groups of patients taking a statin and a second drug to a placebo group. He also claims that a drug’s ability to improve artery-wall thickness has not been proved to automatically correlate with a reduction in heart attacks. Moreover he stated that ezetimibe lowers bad cholesterol and lowering bad cholesterol is a “known good”.

Ezetimibe has been licenced on the basis of its ability to reduce LDL-cholesterol – something that is referred to as a ‘surrogate marker’. So, Merck it seems that Merck is happy for its drug to be sold and promoted on the basis of one surrogate marker (reduced cholesterol), but none-too-keen for its drug to be criticised on the basis of another surrogate measure (carotid artery intima thickness).

Dr Kim also describes a reduction in bad (LDL) cholesterol as a “known good”. However, the new England Journal of Medicine study found that lower levels of LDL cholesterol were actually associated with an increase in carotid artery intima thickness. And never mind this, do we really think that just because something reduces LDL cholesterol levels, that has to be a good thing. I mean, if arsenic and cyanide were found to reduce LDL cholesterol levels, would that mean we should all be taking arsenic and cyanide every day?

The New York Times article also quotes Dr James Stein, professor at the University of Wisconsin medical school, who points out that as far as ezetimibe is concerned, “there is not a shred of evidence that it does anything good for blood vessels or heart disease.”

References:

1. Taylor AJ, et al. Extended-Release Niacin or Ezetimibe and Carotid Intima–Media Thickness NEJM 15th November 2009 [epub ahead of print]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article printed from Dr Briffa’s Blog: http://www.drbriffa.com

URL to article: http://www.drbriffa.com/blog/2009/11/16/more-bad-news-for-the-makers-and-takers-of-cholesterol-reducing-drug-ezetimibe-zetia/

URLs in this post:
[1] did not work: http://www.drbriffa.com/blog/2008/01/28/trial-results-forced-out-of-drug-company-support-the-concept
-that-cholesterol-may-not-cause-cardiovascular-disease/

[2] death due to cancer: http://www.drbriffa.com/blog/2008/07/23/cholesterol-lowering-combination-found-to-have-limited-benef
it-again-and-now-is-linked-with-increased-risk-of-cancer/

[3] chance finding: http://www.drbriffa.com/blog/2008/09/03/is-it-right-for-scientists-to-put-the-links-between-choleste
rol-reducing-medication-and-cancer-down-to-chance/

[4] here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/health/research/16heart.html

Statin Drugs and Mitochondrial Damage

Duane Graveline, the Spacedoc, introduces the topic of statin drug side effects this way...

"Tens of thousands of statin users have complained to their doctors of weakness, instability, easy fatigue, muscle aches and pains, burning of their extremities, depression, personality change and faulty memory, ... "

Any of those sound familiar as symptoms you have seen or heard of in someone that you know who is on the statin drug or have you experienced them yourself as a user. I did for much too long. Yet the prescribed drugs did not do what they were touted to do - prevent cardiovascular disease or heart attack in my case. I will admit they did reduce my cholesterol. Enough so that my cardiologists were tickled pink. I felt I was doing more to prevent them from having a coronary than myself. With 'dumb, fat, and happy' low cholesterol I had five heart attacks and intestinal cancer (an increased risk side effect of statin usage). Don't know how the cardiologists and GPs who prescribed them, and were so entheusiastically promoting their benefits and likely taking the miracle drug themselves are doing. Hopefully they are faring better than I did.

Read Dr Gravline's full series of articles on Statin Drugs and Mitochondrial Damage here.

Dr. Davis on Vitamin D

Addessing the question "What is a healthy vitamin D blood level?" Dr Davis makes some valuable points.

A previous post here from Dr Davis, "Another reason not to get sick in a hospital", also addresses vitamin D but with a different focus.


Vitamin D is so important for so many reasons that I recommend reading both of his articles in full. Please click on the links above.