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Dr. Mercola
January 31 2008
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Popular Cholesterol Drug Found to Have No Medical Benefits

pills, medication, drugsZetia, a cholesterol-lowering drug prescribed to about 1 million people each week, has no medical benefits, according to a trial by Merck and Schering-Plough.

While the pill does lower cholesterol by 15 percent to 20 percent, trials have not shown that Zetia reduces heart attacks or strokes, or that it reduces plaques in arteries that can lead to heart problems.

The current trial, which studied whether Zetia could reduce the growth of plaques, found that plaques grew nearly twice as fast in patients taking Zetia along with Zocor than in those taking Zocor alone.

Patients who took both Zetia and Zocor received it in the form of Vytorin, a pill that combines the medications.

Experts have called the results “shocking,” saying that Zetia should not be prescribed unless all other cholesterol drugs have failed.

The results also add to the controversy over Merck and Schering-Plough’s delays in releasing them. The trial was completed in April 2006, with results scheduled to be released in March 2007. However, the companies missed several deadlines, and only agreed to release the results after media outlets focused on their continued delays.

Zetia and Vytorin account for about 20 percent of the cholesterol drugs on the U.S. market.

Dr. Mercola Dr. Mercola's Comments:
If you read my article from December, Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs: What Are Drugmakers Hiding?, we now have the answer.

They were hiding the fact that their treasured cholesterol pills Zetia and Vytorin, which work differently than standard statin drugs and were being prescribed freely before anyone knew whether or not they worked, nearly double the rate at which dangerous plaque forms in your arteries. And you get to pay about $3 a day, the cost of the drugs, for the privilege.

Of course, the answer is not to turn back to typical statin drugs to lower your cholesterol, as many of the so-called experts would have you believe.

In fact, 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.

Statin drugs can actually increase your risk of heart disease because they deplete your body of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) (which ironically can lead to heart failure). They have also been linked to:
  • 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 Should You do if You Have High Cholesterol?

First, realize that cholesterol is not the major culprit in heart disease, or any disease for that matter. Cholesterol is a necessary part of every cell in your body, and it is an essential ingredient for healthy hormones.

Next, avoid getting caught up with the numbers. Did you know that the guidelines that dictate what your cholesterol level “should” be are extremely biased, and have not been proven to be healthy?

Finally, help direct your cholesterol levels to where they should be, naturally, by making these three lifestyle changes:
  • Reduce, with the plan of eliminating, grains and sugars in your daily diet.
  • Eat the right foods for your nutritional type.
  • Get the right amount of exercise. 
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Community Comments ( 36 )
 		Comment on this Article
  
  
foxtroter_203
 [ Joined on 09/06 ] [ Posted on January 15, 2008 ]
28 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
But, but, but...Zetia is not a statin drug, it works differently... so doesn't it have to be safe and effective? (Darn old tongue, keeps getting stuck, sorry)
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
seg
 [ Joined on 11/06 ]  [ Posted on January 16, 2008]
7 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Check out this video parody from the Health Ranger Mike Adams, another tell it as it is health guru.....
When are they going to start imprisoning these no good sob's....

http://www.newstarget.com/022501.html
Mercola
  
T_rex
 [ Joined on 06/07 ]  [ Posted on January 30, 2008]
       
   
Novice User
  Mercola

Dr. Mercola's subscribers are an enlightened bunch. We should do more to expose the fraudulent powerful Bigpharma cartel. I've started to write my own blog and I'd like you all to read it and leave your comments and start writing your own blogs so we may eventually tip the balance of power.

                 aboutoxicdrugs.blogspot.com
  
  
foxtroter_203
 [ Joined on 09/06 ] [ Posted on January 15, 2008 ]
19 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
"Dr. Steven Nissen, the chairman of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic, called the results were “shocking,” and said that patients should not be prescribed Zetia unless all other cholesterol drugs have failed."

Perhaps doctors should prescribe arsenic if other cholesterol drugs have failed.  That makes as much sense as prescribing Zetia which now has been shown to have no benefit and may make matters worse.

Wasn't there an old saying: "First do no harm?"
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Russ Bianchi
 [ Joined on 09/06 ]  [ Posted on January 15, 2008]
11 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Imagine that, Big Pharma caught in lies and fraud!  The shock of it all! 

NOT!
Mercola
  
mama bear
 [ Joined on 06/06 ]  [ Posted on January 29, 2008]
       
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has been running a full 2 pg ad from the makers of Zetia begging them not to go off their meds and talk to their doctor.  It's all about the $$

mamabear
  
  
Patty D
 [ Joined on 06/07 ] [ Posted on January 15, 2008 ]
15 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
I hate to admit this, but....I was put on Zetia last January because my numbers kept going up and up (total chol and LDL) and I can't take statins.  I took it for about 5 months and have to admit there was a remarkable change in the numbers...BUT I started to develop myopathy on Zetia just like I had on statins.  I was told I HAD to take something, but said no, I couldn't tolerate the side effects of any anti-cholesterol drugs. Then I found natural health, learned the real way to eat etc found out that was one of the wisest decisions I ever made.  Anyway, it apparently does work for some people, but the side effects are NOT worth it plus, I now know that LOW cholesterol is MORE likely to kill you than high.
 [ Reply ]
  
  
Dr.A
 [ Joined on 01/08 ] [ Posted on January 16, 2008 ]
13 Points        
   
 
Novice User

NEW YORK, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Schering-Plough Corp (SGP.N: Quote , Profile , Research ), whose products include the Zetia and Vytorin cholesterol drugs, on Thursday said it priced nearly $3.9 billion of securities offerings to help fund a big acquisition.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newIssuesNews/idUSWEN034820070810

Odd timing? So, I wonder how many more times a Merck related product will be allowed to kill human beings?
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
foxtroter_203
 [ Joined on 09/06 ]  [ Posted on January 19, 2008]
7 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Welcome to Vital Votes Dr.A.  We look forward to many more of your thoughts and contributions. 
  
  
Dex
 [ Joined on 11/06 ] [ Posted on January 16, 2008 ]
13 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
Wow! A drug lacking in medical benefits that raises heart attack risk, increases fatty plaques, that doesn't reduce harmful LDL cholesterol or aid HDL in reducing triglycerides, and  adds side effects, while raising a false sense of confidence and resulting risk of negligence in health maintenance factors—sounds like a poster child for pharmaceuticals.

Maybe Merck will have to raise the kick-back bonuses they give doctors to keep prescribing the stuff.

 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
EQ
 [ Joined on 03/07 ]  [ Posted on January 16, 2008]
9 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Here, here, Dex!

A drug with none of the benefit, but all of the side effects!

Special trips to the Caribbean for any doc who prescribes these.
Mercola
  
DrEric_203
 [ Joined on 05/07 ]  [ Posted on January 29, 2008]
3 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

Read the second sentence in the article above...it did lower LDL.  Also, keep in mind that there was no placebo arm in this trial.
  
  
mmc88121
 [ Joined on 11/06 ] [ Posted on January 15, 2008 ]
10 Points        
   
 
Moderator User
Maybe if Doctors would treat the disease first instead of the symptoms they might actually make some progress in treating heart disease and atherosclerosis.  Start with diet and exercise, not statins.

Mary
 [ Reply ]
  
  
Lisa G
 [ Joined on 01/08 ] [ Posted on January 28, 2008 ]
7 Points        
   
 
Novice User

If you want more scary news on the dangers of statins, google "UCSD statin study" to read about a five-year NIH-funded study on the adverse effects of statins which was recently concluded at University of California San Diego. Keep in mind that it was funded by our government, who tend to be heavily "influenced" by Big Pharma -- so what you read is probably only the tip of the iceberg. I found the researchers in desperation, after my active, healthy mother was prescribed a huge statin dose by her doctor, and has suffered severe (and seemingly irreversible) muscle damage. The lead researcher herself told me that "statins are toxic to muscle satellite cells and toxic to their ability to repair." Statins can actually permanently damage muscle stem cells. I am not surprised that none of this work seems to have been made available to the public at large. The ability of the drug companies to bribe, gag and coerce is astonishing. Why aren't more people as pissed off as I am? I guess because it was MY mother who was a victim...

 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
T_rex
 [ Joined on 06/07 ]  [ Posted on January 30, 2008]
1 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

I also had a mother who died of renal failure induced after years of taking drugs for hypertension. So I decided to do my part in exposing the fraud of current medical science and started this blog:

      aboutoxicdrugs.blogspot.com

Please enter your comments there and do start your own blogs !
  
  
Birdmoth
 [ Joined on 01/07 ] [ Posted on January 17, 2008 ]
5 Points        
   
 
Novice User
While I'm all for any study that shows these poisons don't work, I'd like to point out one thing near the end of the article:

"The Enhance trial covered patients with a gene that causes them to produce very high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, commonly called L.D.L., or bad cholesterol."

This condition (heterozygous familial
hypercholesterolemia) affects 0.2% of the population.  In reality it was a very limited study, and not the mass condemnation we wish it was.
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
DrEric_203
 [ Joined on 05/07 ]  [ Posted on January 29, 2008]
2 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

That's true...the average cholesterol level in this study was approximately 320.

And if you look at the numbers of the change in plaque formation it was a difference of 0.005 mm...disect a carotid and get out a ruler and try to measure 0.005 mm, it's very insignificant, in fact it might support Mercola's advice that cholesterol supports the structure of vessels.
  
  
Freedom
 [ Joined on 02/07 ] [ Posted on January 29, 2008 ]
4 Points        
   
 
Apprentice User

Simvastatin has one particular side effect that Merck do not print on their leaflet to warn patients: Loss of Memory. There have been approximately 60 cases of such in the UK. Merck will not discuss this with patients; referring them to their GP...........so my cousin told me.

So why don't they print this on the leaflet ?

 [ Reply ] </