Are you one of the millions of people taking medications to lower cholesterol, such as statins (Lipitor, Crestor, Pravachol, Crestor, et al)? If not, you may want to speak with your physician about taking one, even if your cholesterol levels are within "normal" ranges.
A large study (17,802 people) of generally healthy men over 50 and women over 60 mostly with acceptable cholesterol levels but some with elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels (CRP, a blood indicator of inflammation in the body) has shown that taking stains may indeed lower the risk of heart disease, strokes and deaths, and not just by controlling cholesterol levels. This information points to lowering CRP levels as being very important to limiting heart disease and premature death due to cardiovascular "events," and statins lower them.
This study, nicknamed "Jupiter," was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine online. It was funded by AstraZeneca the maker of Crestor (Rosuvastatin) and other pharmaceutical companies and was originally scheduled to run for five years, but the results that participants were greatly benefiting from the medication were so impressive, they ended it after only 1.9 years. Even though sponsored by a pharmaceutical company, the study involved many physicians and scientists, and is generally considered to be applicable to all statins, not just those made by the sponsor.
It's been established for awhile that cardiovascular/heart disease was affected not only by high cholesterol levels, but also by inflammation in the body, and higher CRP levels were a red-flag. Now, physicians and scientists are seeing that medications that control both can be greatly helpful in preventing or slowing heart and cardiovascular diseases.
I thought you'd want to know about this right away.
Cholesterol Lowering Medications and Improved Results
Tuesday November 11, 2008
Filed Under: Health, Health Support, Healthy Living, Heart Disease, Illness and Recovery, Mens Health, Wellness, Womens Health
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About Dr. Norris Chumley Satisfied Life
Dr. Norris J. Chumley is a doctor of theology and the arts, and has lost 160 pounds and maintained it over 16 years with God's help. The author/host of "The Joy of Weight Loss: a Spiritual Guide to Easy Fitness," and many TV programs and DVD's, including "Spiritual Guide to Weight Loss" and "30 Days to Spiritual Well Being," Dr. Norris also does private consultations, leads workshops and lectures nationally. He has been a featured Beliefnet daily columnist and contributing editor for many years.
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What a delusion! A study sponsored by a big Pharma company that is saying that all should be on the drug it is manufacturing!! Give me a break. Why was it stopped in less than 2 years? Supposedly to benefit morons like me! Maybe if they carried it out to full term they would have found something else. Something that may not help sell their drug. When will we learn that all big Pharma is interested in is to sell their products. The doctors who accept funding from these people are not independent.
While I take a different tone, I tend to empathize with Vijay's reaction.
This study found that the benefit of Crestor was to reduce the risk of heart attack from 1 per 300 patient years to 1 in 600 patient years. That's either a 50% relative reduction or 0.3% absolute reduction in risk, depending on how you view it. Moreover, the number of fatal heart attacks--which you have to extrapolate from the data by subtracting non-fatal MI's from total MI's--went up with Crestor use.
And the study specifically excluded persons with diabetes, high blood pressure, or abnormal liver or kidney panels. We don't know from this study whether there are side effects that might be injurious to persons with these conditions (which is most people who are going to doctors about cholesterol). The study found that prediabetics were more likely to become diabetics while on Crestor.
So maybe I don't want to take this statin after all, do you suppose? Funny how few people writing about this research seem to have actually read it.
There is something I forgot to mention, that Vijay might appreciate. Here is the disclosure paragraph published with this study. The names listed are those of the study's authors:
Dr. Ridker reports receiving grant support from AstraZeneca, Novartis, Merck, Abbott, Roche, and Sanofi-Aventis; consulting fees or lecture fees or both from AstraZeneca, Novartis, Merck, Merck–Schering-Plough, Sanofi-Aventis, Isis, Dade Behring, and Vascular Biogenics; and is listed as a coinventor on patents held by Brigham and Women's Hospital that relate to the use of inflammatory biomarkers in cardiovascular disease, including the use of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in the evaluation of patients' risk of cardiovascular disease. These patents have been licensed to Dade Behring and AstraZeneca. Dr. Fonseca reports receiving research grants, lecture fees, and consulting fees from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Schering-Plough, Sanofi-Aventis, and Merck; and Dr. Genest, lecture fees from AstraZeneca, Schering-Plough, Merck–Schering-Plough, Pfizer, Novartis, and Sanofi-Aventis and consulting fees from AstraZeneca, Merck, Merck Frosst, Schering-Plough, Pfizer, Novartis, Resverlogix, and Sanofi-Aventis. Dr. Gotto reports receiving consulting fees from Dupont, Novartis, Aegerion, Arisaph, Kowa, Merck, Merck–Schering-Plough, Pfizer, Genentech, Martek, and Reliant; serving as an expert witness; and receiving publication royalties. Dr. Kastelein reports receiving grant support from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Roche, Novartis, Merck, Merck–Schering-Plough, Isis, Genzyme, and Sanofi-Aventis; lecture fees from AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Novartis, Merck–Schering-Plough, Roche, Isis, and Boehringer Ingelheim; and consulting fees from AstraZeneca, Abbott, Pfizer, Isis, Genzyme, Roche, Novartis, Merck, Merck–Schering-Plough, and Sanofi-Aventis. Dr. Koenig reports receiving grant support from AstraZeneca, Roche, Anthera, Dade Behring and GlaxoSmithKline; lecture fees from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, DiaDexus, Roche, and Boehringer Ingelheim; and consulting fees from GlaxoSmithKline, Medlogix, Anthera, and Roche. Dr. Libby reports receiving lecture fees from Pfizer and lecture or consulting fees from AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, VIA Pharmaceuticals, Interleukin Genetics, Kowa Research Institute, Novartis, and Merck–Schering-Plough. Dr. Lorenzatti reports receiving grant support, lecture fees, and consulting fees from AstraZeneca, Takeda, and Novartis; Dr. Nordestgaard, lecture fees from AstraZeneca, Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Merck and consulting fees from AstraZeneca and BG Medicine; Dr. Shepherd, lecture fees from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Merck and consulting fees from AstraZeneca, Merck, Roche, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Nicox, and Oxford Biosciences; and Dr. Glynn, grant support from AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb. No other potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.
Why does beliefnet post this article? Someone may actually BELIEVE this story!
At least call it the misleading hoax it is and put a warning ABOVE the article......
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