Zocor/Vytorin thicken artery walls

[cjbrooksjc]

The following from Health Sciences Inst.

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Last year, the New England Journal of Medicine published the ENHANCE STUDY – a two-year trial that compared the effects of Zocor (a statin) with Vytorin (a combination of Zocor and Zetia – a drug that blocks cholesterol absorption) in 720 subjects with high cholesterol.

Results: Zocor and Vytorin both reduced LDL cholesterol, but in spite of the length of the study, there was no "significant difference in changes in intima–media thickness" (that is, in the thickness of artery walls) in the Zocor group compared to the Vytorin group.

Okay – here's where it starts to get interesting.

There was no significant difference in changes in intima-media thickness. But what exactly were those changes? You'll have to dig deep into the study to come up with this surprising note: "There was a SLIGHT INCREASE in the mean intima–media thickness over time in both groups."

Yeah! Devastating! Both drugs lowered LDL, and with both drugs, on average, subjects' arteries became NARROWER.

As I noted in a couple of 2008 e-Alerts, this research was deeply controversial for the medical mainstream because statins are supposed to prevent arteries from narrowing by (all together now!) lowering cholesterol.

So the FDA stepped in and said, Okay, everyone calm down now. We'll take a closer look at the study and get back to you when we figure out what's REALLY going on here.

Well…the FDA just got back to us. Care to guess what they had to say?

I've got to hand it to the FDA – their ENHANCE report doesn't ignore the elephant in the room. The report comes right out and admits that with both Vytorin and Zocor, thickness of artery walls increased.

But the report goes on to put greater stress on the "good" news: LDL dropped by more than 50 percent in the Vytorin group and nearly 40 percent in the Zocor group.

And this is presented like: So there! Ha! Is this stuff fantastic or what? High five!

Then the report takes a surprising turn. Based on a previous study, researchers anticipated two things: 1) that LDL would be lowered, and 2) that Zocor would increase artery wall thickness. That's right: A similar two-year study, released in 2001, actually showed that Zocor reduced cholesterol, but artery walls narrowed.

So…at what point do we start acknowledging that Zocor might be dangerous? You would think the 2001 study would be a red flag, but researchers went ahead with the second study and gave the drug to hundreds of subjects for two years, even though (according to the FDA report), narrowing of artery walls was EXPECTED!

Is this insane tunnel-vision focus on using statins to lower cholesterol so pervasive that they don't see the danger in narrowed arteries?

The answer to that question appears to be yes.

And then the FDA report offers this absolutely predictable advice: "Based on current available data, patients should not stop taking Vytorin or other cholesterol lowering medications."

Sure! Go right ahead! And while you're having your heart attack, you'll be comforted by the knowledge that your LDL cholesterol is impressively low. Enjoy!

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson

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Best,

Brooks

[Biologist]

That's amazing, Brooks. Good find.

I have also suspected for some time that statin-related cancers are showing up in very significant numbers and are being systematically hidden. That's my prediction. Watch for it (i.e., the scandal) later this year.

Biologist

[cjbrooksjc]

B; Uh, my watch for the scandal will be mixed with peculiar suspicions about my innards...

[Biologist]

Hi, Brooks.

I thought you might be interested in the letter I enclosed with a copy of the book ("Alzheimer's Solved" by Henry Lorin) that I gave my original doctor (who had me on Zocor for years) last week. I dropped it off at his office on Friday. I have not seen him in over a year, but he needs to stay apprised of my situation. I have removed his name and my own from the letter. Also enclosed was a print-out of this URL:

*http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/PHARMACEUTICAL_BUSINESS/laws_of_the_pharmaceutical_industry.htm

Thanks for finding that info. (I have since researched it further.) As you can see it came in handy. Oh, and I agree about the innards concern. Gotta watch them innards!

Here's the letter:

"Hi, Dr. [Redacted]

I hope things are going well for you.

I continue to have significant health problems from statin use (presumably along with a course of doxycycline and strenuous aerobic exercise). I believe I now understand most of the mechanisms involved, some other time on that though. Since November of 2006 I have been reading and studying about statins including their history, economics, medical value, etc. I learn more nearly every day, and by far, most of it is not supportive of statin use. For instance, I remember reading an article taped to the wall in one of your patient rooms hypothesizing that the increase in longevity among runners was the incremental increase in the lumen of coronary arteries. Just this week I learned that statins (specifically Zocor) narrows arteries per the ENHANCE Study by increasing the thickness of the intema as had been demonstrated previously apparently (while in all my reading it is a new one on me) in a 2-year study published in 2001. Through my investigation over the last two years, I have concluded that statins, and the extent of the population to whom they are prescribed and the high dosages to which they are prescribed, may amount to the most significant fraud in medical history. In short, there are many safer ways to lower inflammation, and cholesterol is largely an innocent bystander in the whole process -- as the science has indicated for many years.

It has become clear to me that statins are an issue of economics (i.e., cash to pharmaceutical companies) trumping science. I am convinced that this is why I am injured. As you are likely aware, the majority of the panel of the National Cholesterol Education Program had financial affiliations with Big Pharma. It appears to me that their recommendations were not based on any reasonable interpretation of the existing science or of medical prudence or ethics. This is why I am injured.

Recently I read a report where the FDA admitted they were hopelessly incompetent to regulate the safety of drugs and have been for years. Drug company influences are key. Among many others, I have read Marcia Angell’s book “The Truth About the Drug Companies.â€Â

[cjbrooksjc]

B: Outstanding post! I like the embedded link! When you or I think of it - why would big Pharma EVER want to eradicate any global disease when it is the presence of those illnesses that generates their revenue steam? It seems near impossible that this big pharma 'STING' could be reality when our zeitgeist is the polar opposite; sort of like your mother poisoning you at each meal... absurd to think it, but the proof is overwhelming!

Hope your Dr. contact takes this to heart.

Best,

Brooks