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The American College of Physicians released a report that stated
regardless of cholesterol levels, most people with diabetes should
be taking cholesterol-lowering medication to cut their risk of having
a heart attack. These latest recommendations on treatment options
for the 18 million Americans diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were
released by an organization consisting of 100,000 internists.
Researchers claimed that a man with diabetes was two to four times
more likely to experience a heart attack or stroke over a person
without the disease and a woman’s risk was two to six times
more likely.
Researchers based these findings on the thickness of diabetics’
blood and its tendency to form blood clots. Another doctor added
that the arteries of diabetics were usually inflamed and suggested
that statins were very effective at lowering both cholesterol levels
and inflammation.
Under the proposed guidelines, diabetics are recommended to take
cholesterol-lowering drugs, regardless of if they have good cholesterol
levels or not.
Some of the statins that are considered the top-selling medications
include Lipitor, Zocor, Pravachol and Mevecor.
Although statins are most commonly prescribed for cardiovascular
problems, research suggested they might help or prevent other diseases
such as Alzheimer’s disease. Some studies have found that statins
reduced a person’s likelihood of developing dementia by 70
percent. Researchers also stated that statins might be responsible
for producing an effect on amyloid, a protein that is considered
to be one of the main contributing factors to Alzheimer’s disease.
Statins have also been shown to help fight diseases such as multiple
sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis and will be observed in the prevention
of cancer in future studies.
Research on statins has shown some of the side effects of it include
muscle damage that could result in kidney failure and liver damage.
However, experts claimed these side effects were not common.
Annals
of Internal Medicine April 20, 2004;140: 644-649
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