SEARCH:
Sign in | Join | Help
search Mercola.com
 
FREE Subscription 
The World’s Most Popular Natural Health Newsletter
POSTED BY:

Dr. Mercola
December 13 2007

View in Podcast
45,239 views


ARTICLE TOOLS:
Current Newsletter Current Newsletter
Share Your Comment Share Your Comment
Print this Page Print this Page
Submit My StorySubmit My Story
Newsletter FeedNewsletter Feed
Health Blog FeedHealth Blog Feed
TRANSLATE THIS PAGE:
Arabic Translation Chinese Translation Dutch Translation French Translation German Translation
Korean Translation Japanese Translation Portugese Translation Russian Translation Spanish Translation

Email this article to a friend
Bookmark & Share
Previous Article
Next Article
Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs: What Are Drugmakers Hiding?

Nearly two years after a clinical trial of the cholesterol-lowering drugs Zetia and Vytorin was finished, the results have still not been released by the drugs’ makers (Merck and Schering-Plough).

Yet, close to 800,000 prescriptions for the drugs are written each week in the United States, bringing in close to $4 billion for the year.

The companies have responded to cardiologists’ concerns over the lack of safety data for the drugs by promising to publish only a portion of the results in March, a move that critics are calling highly unusual.

Currently, no one knows whether Zetia and Vytorin are as effective as other cholesterol-lowering medications called statins. If they turn out to be less so, patients may be unnecessarily at risk of heart attacks.

Zetia was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2002 because it was found to lower LDL cholesterol by 15 to 20 percent. Vytorin combines Zetia with Merck’s statin drug, Zocor.

Together, the drugs have acquired close to 20 percent of the U.S. market for cholesterol-lowering drugs.

However, because Zetia and Vytorin work differently than standard statin drugs, cardiologists have expressed concerns that they may not protect the cardiovascular system as much as using a statin does.

Drugmakers Changed the Trial’s Endpoint

Along with announcing that they will only be releasing part of the clinical trial’s results, Merck and Schering-Plough said they had changed the trial’s endpoint, or the final result the study was supposed to measure.

Typically, the trial’s endpoint is supposed to remain constant because otherwise the study’s authors could change their goals to conform to the data they received.

The delay in publishing the study’s results raise further questions as to whether the drug industry is improving their disclosure of clinical trials.

Two years ago drugmakers promised to disclose study results publicly, however they face few penalties for failing to do so.

Sources:

  New York Times November 21, 2007


Dr. Mercola''s Comments Dr. Mercola's Comments:

It is a common trick of the drug cartel to overwhelmingly make public only the positive results to their clinical trials. And if it doesn’t look like you’re going to get any positives, well then you just change what you were looking for (which could easily be the purpose behind Merck and Schering-Plough’s decision to change their trials endpoint).

But the thing that gets me the most riled up is the blatant fact that millions of Americans have been taking these drugs, and paying for the privilege, without any solid evidence whether they’re truly effective (let alone what the real risks are).

The cardiologists referred to in the New York Times article are right to express concern over prescribing drugs that may or may not work. But they missed the boat in comparing these newer cholesterol-lowering drugs to their “gold standard,” the statins. In reality, neither drug is the answer.

PLEASE Understand -- Drugs are Not Your Answer to High Cholesterol

It may surprise you to learn that cholesterol is not the major culprit in heart disease or any disease. It may surprise you even more to learn that the guidelines that dictate what number your cholesterol levels should be to keep you “healthy” are fraught with conflict of interest -- and have never been proven to be good for you.

It is VERY rare for anyone to need cholesterol-lowering drugs. Among the more than 20,000 patients who have come to my clinic, only four or five of them truly needed these drugs, as they had genetic challenges that required it. If you or someone you know is taking them, odds are very high, greater than 100 to 1, that you or they don't need it.

This is true whether the drugs are statins or the newer Zetia and Vytorin.

You should know that among the many dangers of statins drugs is an increased risk of heart disease. This is because patients taking statins become depleted in Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which leads to fatigue, muscle weakness, soreness and, ironically, heart failure.

The FDA has had a petition to label statin packages with a warning about statin-induced CoQ10 depletion for years, but nothing has been done about it. Some of the other risks of statin drugs include:
  • Weakness
  • Muscle aches
  • An increase in cancer risk
  • Immune system suppression
  • Serious degenerative muscle tissue condition (rhabdomyolysis)
  • Potential increase in liver enzymes so patients must be monitored for normal liver function
What can you do to protect your heart and keep your cholesterol levels where they naturally should be, without exposing yourself to these outlandish risks?
For the vast majority of people, it really is as simple as that.


Related Links:

  The Truth About Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs (Statins), Cholesterol and Health

  Common Cholesterol Drug Lowers Cholesterol but Not Death Rate

  Evil Marketing Geniuses




Comment on This Article
Comment on This Article Community Comments (44)
 
 
Posted On Nov 22, 2007
  • But we must be thankful that the FDA is protecting us from raw almonds and raw milk.  Sorry--I have a hard to controlling my sarcasm in this area of health. 
  • We probably wouldn't need to consider statin drugs if we lowered HFCS, breads, pastas and potatoes in our diets.

ReplyReply
Mark As Spam  Mark as Spam
Positive Points Negative Points   21 Points
 
foxtroter_203
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 9/2006
foxtroter_203  
Send Message  Send Message
Add as Friend  Add as Friend
Replied

Russ Bianchi
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 9/2006
Russ Bianchi  
Send Message  Send Message
Add as Friend  Add as Friend
 
Posted On Nov 22, 2007
Your second point Doc is absolutely CORRECT!

Uncle Russ

Mark As Spam   Mark as Spam
Positive Points Negative Points   2 Points

Pleiadian Keys
Novice User Novice User Joined On 11/2007
Pleiadian Keys  
Send Message  Send Message
Add as Friend  Add as Friend
 
Posted On Nov 24, 2007
What they are hiding is the fact that with this drug "they" can make lots of money. Know the history of statin drugs and let it be known that the first drug company that produce a statin drug had CoQ-10 in the original formula.  It was taken out and submitted to FDA for approval.  Dr. Julian Whitaker has had a petition with the FDA to include a warning since 2002.  Nothing has been resolved yet.  We need to know the truth and empower our own healing abilities

Mark As Spam   Mark as Spam
Positive Points Negative Points   11 Points

schmaltztwics
Novice User Novice User Joined On 12/2006
schmaltztwics  
Send Message  Send Message
Add as Friend  Add as Friend
 
Posted On Dec 13, 2007

At the moment, we can try to figure out "the truth and empower our own healing abilities" but independent thinkers are an endangered species.

adage.com/article

Hear Voices? It May Be an Ad

An A&E Billboard 'Whispers' a Spooky Message Audible Only in Your Head in Push to Promote Its New 'Paranormal' Program

Commentary:

cuttingthrough.jenkness.com/.../Alan_Watt_CTTM_LIVEonRBN_50_Whos_Been_Talking_in_My_Head_Dec122007.mp3

Lecture on how to create assassins and how to tranquillize (lobotomize) 6 BILLION people using weak EMF:

Michael Persinger - Psychotropic Drugs And The Nature Of Reality

opposingdigits.com/vlog

Doctor Robert Duncan chatting about neurological weapons and state assaults on the sense of self:

arcticbeacon.com/.../0606-2007-LRN-Hr1-Hr2.mp3


Mark As Spam   Mark as Spam
Positive Points Negative Points   1 Points

fullofoats
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 6/2006
fullofoats  
Send Message  Send Message
Add as Friend  Add as Friend
 
Posted On Dec 13, 2007

Recently I read in a magazine that the optimal total cholesterol number is actually 300!  I'm not sure what to think of that, but I know drug manufacturers wouldn't be happy about it.  Has anyone else heard that number?

I believe that the health of our arteries is much more important than our cholesterol number.  www.naturalpureorganics.com/cholesterol.htm

Mark As Spam   Mark as Spam
Positive Points Negative Points   3 Points

DaveB_203
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 10/2006
DaveB_203  
Send Message  Send Message
Add as Friend  Add as Friend
 
Posted On Dec 13, 2007

Actually cholesterol is essential to the cardiovascular system. You can eat all the foods you want (except junk food of any type). What is needed is to metabolize the cholesterol and that can be done by garlic and b-complex vitamins. The hell with the drugs... like most of you agree, none will help you.

Mark As Spam   Mark as Spam
Positive Points Negative Points   3 Points
 
 
 
Posted On Nov 23, 2007
After several years of drug therapy for high cholesterol , my wife and my mother both stopped using the drugs and changed their eating habits. The cholesterol dropped to optimum levels; something the drugs couldn't do!

ReplyReply
Mark As Spam  Mark as Spam
Positive Points Negative Points   13 Points
 
4Hand Healthy
Apprentice User Apprentice User, Joined On 6/2007
4Hand Healthy  
Send Message  Send Message
Add as Friend  Add as Friend
Replied

Aaltrude
Moderator User Moderator User Joined On 4/2007
Aaltrude  
Send Message  Send Message
Add as Friend  Add as Friend
 
Posted On Nov 23, 2007
Exercise is also a factor in controlling cholesterol levels.

Mark As Spam   Mark as Spam
Positive Points Negative Points   7 Points
 
 
 
Posted On Nov 23, 2007
My son who lives 2000 miles away was prescribed Lipitor, so I went to the local pharmacy and got a Lipitor label.

In the study they cite (can I assume it was the one best for the Company?) 10,305 hypertensive patients participated for 4.8 years. If I  read the label correctly, and I think I did, there were 108 cardiovascular events in the placebo group (3.0%) and 60 cariovascular events in the Lipitor group (1.9%). Pfizer calls that a relative risk reduction of 36% (comparing 3% to 1.9%). Any honest, sane person would label the difference between 3% and 1.9% to be 1.1% as opposed to the misleading 36% figure.

And why do people (sheeple) continue to accept all this crap when a good part of the truth is right there on the label? When I took the label to the cofee shop to show the other geezers (and Lipitor takers), most of them got mad at me! Ah, such is life................ 

ReplyReply
Mark As Spam  Mark as Spam
Positive Points Negative Points   12 Points
 
tomjot
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 12/2006
tomjot  
Send Message  Send Message
Add as Friend  Add as Friend
Replied

4Hand Healthy
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 6/2007
4Hand Healthy  
Send Message  Send Message
Add as Friend  Add as Friend
 
Posted On Nov 24, 2007
Take heart ,tomjot, you are not alone. I find that anytime I mention anything related to health issues, if it goes against what people perceive to be the truth, they usually get mad or at least upset.In the past I have made comments like "It's your grave...dig it "!!  By the way  I love "sheeple".

Mark As Spam   Mark as Spam
Positive Points Negative Points   6 Points
 
 
 
Posted On Dec 13, 2007

So if we are all DIFFERENT then how can one cholesterol number fit everyone?

ReplyReply
Mark As Spam  Mark as Spam
Positive Points Negative Points   11 Points
 
lle97
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 12/2007
lle97  
Send Message  Send Message
Add as Friend  Add as Friend
 
 
 
Posted On Dec 13, 2007

How interesting that I should see this article! I just had my cholestrol tested.A heart scan showed very, very mild abnormality in my heart and Total cholestrol was 226 mg/dl..Trigyclerides:309/HDL:47/VLDL: Cal:62/LDL Calc:117...My cardiologist called me to say he was calling in a RX for Tricor 145mg..no alternatives given....just that....well, I am 50 years old, I have survived cancer 3 times(last time over 15 years ago)a car wreck 5 years ago left me with degenerative disc(no surgery for me)and Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and more symptoms that I can go in to...after 6 months in bed, a Rhumetologist got me up and going(a lot of med's...over 20 pills a day...BUT...with the knowledge that we would taper off and add natural supplements and care along the way...today I only take 9 pills and working on reducing that..I deal with chronic pain every day and it is a constant struggle to get straight answers from Dr.s...my Rhuemotologist moved his practice, so I was back to searching for a dr. that appreciated my goals...so I took matters into my own hands...shortness of breath(I am trying to get my strength back and activity level up)lead me to have my heart checked...and here we are.....NOW...the point! No one asked ME what I wanted to do to lower my cholestrol, so I refused the medication(my diet has been deemed excellent after recent changes)and I will be retested in January...

I have found Dr.s eager to write prescriptions for me because of the complexity of my condition and I think the drug industry pushes it too. I don't want to maintain my illness, I want to rise above it and feel the best I can.

In the meantime I am Jucing with RUBY REDS(A super food) and taking Stabilzed Polyphenol complex(red wine),co Q-10 and Jarrow B-right low odor B Complex, have eliminated sugars and processed foods...lost 30 lbs.

I'm not all the way there yet, but I am determined and have learned one big lesson in all this....speak up and take control of  your own health!

Spunky Lady

ReplyReply
Mark As Spam  Mark as Spam
Positive Points Negative Points   11 Points
 
Spunky Lady
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 12/2007
Spunky Lady  
Send Message  Send Message
Add as Friend  Add as Friend
Replied

Kismagyar
Novice User Novice User Joined On 10/2006
Kismagyar  
Send Message  Send Message
Add as Friend  Add as Friend
 
Posted On Dec 13, 2007

Congrats, Spunky...taking things into my own hands is the only way I got a handle on my sub-clinical hypothyroidism...with Dr. Mercola's help and Armour thyroid. Keep up the good work!

KisMagyar

Mark As Spam   Mark as Spam
Positive Points Negative Points   4 Points
 
12345
 
Email this article to a friend
Bookmark & Share
Previous Article
Next Article
 
Privacy Policy   |   Terms of Use   |   Contact Us   |   Testimonials   |  Subscribe Newsletters RSS Feed Subscribe Blog RSS Feed
 
© Copyright 2009 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved. If you want to use this article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using this product.