Re: "Statins caused my kidney failure"

From: Robert (Robert_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 07/14/04 

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 11:58:24 -0700

"Zee" <zwalanga@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:e5f4a9c2.0407140915.536f939c@posting.google.com...
> "Bill" <xxx@yy.zz> wrote in message
news:<GI3Jc.1762$ii.888@newssvr32.news.prodigy.com>...
>
> So Bill, I read the following to say:
>
> 1.The goal of statin therapy is to reduce the odds of dying of a heart
> attack or stroke, not just lower cholesterol numbers.
>
> 2. Despite millions spent on clinical trials, researchers could not
> prove lowering cholesterol had any effect on life expectancy.
>

You are outdated, the latest two studies involving patients with heart
disease and diabetes which is bringing about the changes in the guidelines
did just that.

> 3. Pharmas need only prove to FDA the drug lowers cholesterol.

No, they have to prove safety, dosage and effectiveness.
You intentionally lie and misled people. The FDA acts with hard evidence
something of which you have none. Bacol was removed from the market beause
of this, so again you are a twisted individual which knows nothing about
medicine trying to impose your will on others.

>
>
> Someone needs to take a big broom to the FDA. They don't seem to be
> doing what you are paying them to do. Not that it's any different for
> the Aussie, Kiwi or Canuck regulatory bodies.
>
> Please note, Bill: Dr. Wright is with the Cochrane Collaboration. "Dr.
> Wright and his colleagues at the University of British Columbia
> contacted the authors of the three trials that did not publish the
> number of serious adverse events suffered by their study participants.
> The reviewers have yet to receive the requested data. "
>
> Do you not see the truth of Wright's reasoning, and think if you were
> he, or part of his team, you too (with your training) would be just as
> suspicious?
>
> I am. Pityful English major that I am. I am suspicious.
>
> But I await your correction.
>
>
> Zee
>
>
>
>
http://www.medicalconsumers.org/pages/AlmostEverythingYouNeedtoKnowAboutStatinDrugs.html
>
> "Given the emphasis on cholesterol "numbers," it is easy to lose sight
> of the fact that the ultimate goal of drug therapy is not to lower
> cholesterol but to reduce the odds of dying of a heart attack or
> stroke. A pharmaceutical company seeking approval from the FDA,
> however, need only prove its drug can lower cholesterol. The more
> important, long-term studies are initiated many years later.
>
> When researchers began conducting clinical trials to prove that
> lowering cholesterol will prevent cardiac deaths, they ran into some
> major snags over the course of several decades. Despite millions of
> dollars spent on clinical trials, researchers simply could not prove
> that lowering people's cholesterol had any effect on life expectancy.
> Whether the study participants lowered their cholesterol with diet,
> exercise, smoking cessation, and/or drugs, the heart disease death
> rate went down but the over-all death rate, that is, the death rate
> from all causes, went up. In other words, their total death rate was
> no different from that of the people who did not lower their
> cholesterol.
>
> -------snip---------
>
> ". Only two of the five trials reported serious adverse events. "Based
> on the two trials, we are suspicious that some serious adverse events
> are being increased by statins and that this appears to be canceling
> the benefit of the reduction in heart attacks and strokes,"
>
> The analysis of the five trials was conducted by a team of researchers
> at the University of British Columbia led by James M. Wright, PhD, who
> came to the alarming conclusion that statins harm as many people as
> they help. True, the combined results of the five trials did, in fact,
> show a lower rate of non-fatal heart attack and stroke. However, once
> serious adverse events* were taken into account, the results were not
> so positive. The statin users did have 1.4% lower rate of heart attack
> within the next five years, compared with untreated people, but that
> small benefit was offset by a 1.8% rate of serious adverse events
> associated with the drug.
>
> Dr. Wright and colleagues might be the first reviewers to step back
> and look at the big picture--assessing the serious risks as well as
> the benefits of statins. Only two of the five trials reported serious
> adverse events. "Based on the two trials, we are suspicious that some
> serious adverse events are being increased by statins and that this
> appears to be canceling the benefit of the reduction in heart attacks
> and strokes," Dr. Wright wrote in an e-mail interview. The new
> analysis was published in the April-June 2003 issue of Therapeutics
> Initiative, an evidence-based drug therapy newsletter ("Do Statins
> Have a Role in Primary Prevention?" Available free at www.ti.ubc.ca).
>
> Dr. Wright is associated with the Cochrane Collaboration, an
> international network of experts who conduct systematic reviews of the
> supporting evidence for drugs and other medical, surgical or
> behavioral interventions. In a move that distinguishes many Cochrane
> reviewers, Dr. Wright and his colleagues at the University of British
> Columbia contacted the authors of the three trials that did not
> publish the number of serious adverse events suffered by their study
> participants. The reviewers have yet to receive the requested data.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > "Zee" <zwalanga@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> > news:e5f4a9c2.0407131650.5c78be4a@posting.google.com...
> > > peterc_7@hotmail.com (Pete C.) wrote in message
> > news:<25e68f26.0407130527.3c37f93e@posting.google.com>...
> > > > "Don" <Don12345@supportcharter.net> wrote in message
> > news:<10f5i5tpaao9e5c@corp.supernews.com>...
> > > > > You are talking about Simvastatin and Lipitor.
> > > > >
> > > > > I did some research and Simvastatin is Zocor.
> > > > >
> > > > > Lipitor is Atorvastatin
> > > > >
> > > > > I'm confused. Maybe someone can please help.
> > > > >
> > > > > I'm taking Lipitor (Simvastatin).
> > > > >
> > > > > Don
> > > >
> > > > If you're taking Simvastatin then you are taking Zocor. Don't
listen
> > > > to the BS stories about statins. Your doctor will follow up with
some
> > > > blood tests to make sure the statin you are taking is not causing
> > > > problems and is helping to lower your cholesterol.
> > >
> > >
> > > Don
> > >
> > > Pete C must not be aware that statin induced mitochondrial myopathy
> > > can occur independent of elevated CK levels. Ie) not detectible in a
> > > blood test.
> > > http://www.impostertrial.com/physician.htm
> > >
> > >
> > > Pete:
> > >
> > > Perhaps you should inform yourself of the facts before you give out
> > > erroneous information about how statins' toxic effects are detected.
> > >
> > > You may also want to know these disabling and life-altering effects
> > > not detectible by the tests you mention do not always go away.
> >
> > I'm not sure of that. In the site above and associated article, it seems
the
> > four patients they talked about reversed. And I think that is all Golomb
> > relied upon for information on people with negative CK tests.
> >
> > > In fact
> > > the researcher/cardiologist whose website this is has people still
> > > with mitochondrial myopathy up to four years after stopping them. He
> > > will be publishing *another* couple studies on this topic this fall.
> > > You can find his existing studies on Annals of Internal Medicine, and
> > > www.pubmed.org.
> > >
> > > Phillips says only half of those in his study who had statin-induced
> > > rhabdomyolysis had complete remission of symptoms. Those reporting, of
> > > course, were the ones who lived.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > "http://www.geriatrictimes.com/g040618.html
> > > This article comes with a long list of citations from peer-reviewed
> > > journals.
> > >
> > > "Physicians are most familiar with rhabdomyolysis, and many suppose
> > > that for muscle pain to be statin-associated, it must induce muscle
> > > symptoms throughout the body coupled with elevation of CK levels.
> > > However, this reflects only one manifestation of statin-associated
> > > muscle symptoms. Some patients have only new focal pain or new
> > > fatigue, and may have mild or no elevation in CK levels. In some
> > > instances these symptoms progress to rhabdomyolysis--one reason to
> > > take these symptoms seriously--but many times they do not."
> > >
> > > An important double-blind, crossover biopsy study showed that some
> > > patients receiving statin therapy with non-CK-elevating muscle pain
> > > have objectively documentable, partially reversible mitochondrial
> > > myopathy (Phillips et al., 2002). Even in the absence of
> > > rhabdomyolysis or CK elevation, major effects on function and quality
> > > of life may occur (Golomb et al., 2003). It is important to note that
> > > in both our experience and that of others, muscle symptoms
> > > precipitated by statins may not in all cases completely recover; this
> > > is consistent with the finding that, pathologically, the myopathy may
> > > not completely reverse. more...."
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > This study was done by the non-industry funded epidemiology group
> > > Therapeutics Initiative (TI).
> > >
> > > http://www.ti.ubc.ca/pages/letter48.htm
> > > Conclusions:
> > > If cardiovascular serious adverse events are viewed in isolation, 71
> > > primary prevention patients with cardiovascular risk factors have to
> > > be treated with a statin for 3 to 5 years to prevent one myocardial
> > > infarction or stroke.
> > >
> > > This cardiovascular benefit is not reflected in 2 measures of overall
> > > health impact, total mortality and total serious adverse events.
> > >
> > > ***Therefore, statins have not been shown to provide an overall health
> > > benefit in primary prevention trials.***
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > In this article, Dr. James Wright, head of TI, has more non-industry
> > > funded comments on statins.
> > >
> > >
> >
http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-dsrabin3881826jul06,0,473904,print.column
> > >
> > > Last year, scientists at the University of British Columbia's
> > > Therapeutics Initiative came to a similar conclusion about the use of
> > > statins in men who didn't have prior heart disease. Sure, they had
> > > fewer heart attacks - but they still died at the same rate. "What
> > > we're hypothesizing is that there was some other harm" associated with
> > > the medication, said Dr. Jim Wright, the clinical pharmacologist who
> > > did the study, funded entirely by a grant from British Columbia's
> > > health department. "That really should concern people."
> > >
> > > "Before we prescribe this to millions of people who are basically
> > > healthy, we should be proving that the overall benefits outweigh the
> > > harms," he said. "And we don't think that's the case."
> > >
> > >
> > > Zee
> >
> > For the moment, I agree with that except for, perhaps, for diabetics due
to
> > the recent study.
> >
> > But to be fair, you should also cite the following comment from your
final
> > source:
> >
> > Statins provide a cardiovascular and total mortality benefit for
patients with
> > clinically evident occlusive vascular disease (secondary prevention) and
a
> > cholesterol of >3.5 mM.
> >
> > http://www.ti.ubc.ca/pages/letter49.htm
> >
> > Bill

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