Statins may perform better as a solo act

Statins may do their best work at lowering cholesterol levels alone, according to a new review of research on the popular drugs. More than 28 million Americans have some form of heart disease, and doctors often prescribe statin drugs to lower dangerous low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. High LDL cholesterol levels increase the risk of arteries becoming blocked and triggering a heart attack or stroke. Even so, researchers say only about one-third of people with high cholesterol are able to lower their LDL cholesterol to healthy levels and that number is even lower among those with established heart disease. That prompts many doctors to try combining cholesterol-lowering statin therapy with other non-statin medications in an attempt to further lower cholesterol levels. But researchers analyzed 102 published studies on the topic and found no benefit of combination therapy at reducing the risk of death, heart attack, stroke, or the need for bypass surgery over using high doses of statins alone. The studies were of relatively short duration, often did not employ maximal doses of statin drugs in the combination regimens, and did not examine all possible medication combinations. These limitations affect the ability to make firm conclusions regarding the true use of combination therapy. Nevertheless, the proven benefits of using statin drugs alone in reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke suggest that 'the benefits of additional therapies need to be clearly defined along with attendant risks and costs before advocating widespread use of combination treatment,' writes researcher Mukul Sharma, MD, MSc, of the Canadian Stroke Network in the Annals of Internal Medicine. - WebMD

Livalo, a new statin, gets FDA nod

"The FDA has approved a Livalo, a new cholesterol-lowering statin drug. Known by the generic name of pitavastatin, Livalo has been used in Japan since 2003. It's also sold in Korea and Thailand. Livalo is made by the multinational Japanese firm Kowa Company Ltd. Kowa now has facilities in the U.S." - WebMD

One in three people over 45 'now take statins to reduce heart attack risk' (UK)

"Official figures show there are more than 7 million people in England taking the cholesterol-lowering drugs to reduce their risk of suffering a heart attack. It has raised concerns over the medicalisation of a generation as the numbers on statins are set to increase even further as the Government's new health checks for the over-40s take effect. Prescriptions for antidepressants and drugs for obesity and attention deficit disorder have also risen by up to ninefold in 10 years" - Telegraph

Statins may drain energy

Statins, taken by 13 million Americans to lower cholesterol, may also drain energy levels:

Should even the healthy take statins?

"Preventive medicine focuses on encouraging the general public to worry about illnesses that they will probably never develop, and on doctors to search for remedies that they may never need. But it saves lives. The number of British men and women dying prematurely from heart attacks has fallen by almost a third over the past decade and much of the credit must go to the increasingly widespread use of the statin family of cholesterol-lowering drugs. Statins are taken by millions of people in the UK and are one of the key ingredients in the polypill (a collection of five different drugs being developed as a cardiovascular panacea for anyone over the age of 55). The Department of Health estimates that statins prevent about 10,000 early deaths every year, but a small and vocal group of sceptics believes that they are not as effective as claimed and that they cause a number of disabling side-effects" - Times

Cholesterol contrarians question cult of statins

"The swell of support for broad use of the cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have some medical researchers fearing that side effects we already know about suggest the drugs are too little understood" - Miller–McCune

Rockefeller University Hospital opens clinical trial into statin-associated muscle complaints

"The most widely prescribed class of drugs in the country, statins have helped millions of people lower their cholesterol and reduce their risk of heart attacks - but their side effects, including muscle pain and cramping, have proven to be something of a sore point for many patients. Now, researchers at The Rockefeller University Hospital aim to determine the cause of statin-associated myopathy in a new clinical study. Patricia Maningat, instructor in clinical investigation in Rockefeller's Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics and Metabolism, is the study's principal investigator. Approximately 38 million people in the United States are on statins, and medical professionals expect the number to continue rising. About 10 percent of patients taking statins report some level of myopathic symptoms, but the only marker known to gauge them - elevated blood levels of an enzyme known as creatine kinase - often shows up normal, creating diagnostic confusion and leaving many muscle complaints undiagnosed" - Newswire

High-dose statin before PCI decreases periprocedural MI risk

Loading or reloading with high-dose atorvastatin reduces the risk of periprocedural myocardial infarction (MI) and vascular events in patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), according to data presented at the American College of Cardiology 58th Annual Scientific Session. In a loading study, atorvastatin 80 mg administered within 24 hours of PCI to statin-naïve patients reduced the risk of periprocedural non-Q-wave MI by 44%, reported Carlo Briguori, MD, PhD, of Clinica Mediterranea, Naples, Italy. Up to 30% of untreated patients have increases in troponin and creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB) levels after stent implantation, Dr Briguori said. In this study, 668 statin-naïve patients scheduled for elective PCI were randomized to receive either atorvastatin 80 mg or placebo.

Study: Cholesterol drug lowers blood clot risk

Statin drugs, taken by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease, also can cut the risk of developing dangerous blood clots that can lodge in the legs or lungs, a major study suggests. The results provide a new reason for many people with normal cholesterol to consider taking these medicines, sold as Crestor, Lipitor, Zocor and in generic form, doctors say. In the study, Crestor cut nearly in half the risk of blood clots in people with low cholesterol but high scores on a test for inflammation, which plays a role in many diseases. This same big study last fall showed that Crestor dramatically lowered rates of heart attacks, death and stroke in these people, who are not usually given statins now. "It might make some people who are on the fence decide to go on statins," although blood-clot prevention is not the drugs' main purpose, said Dr. Mark Hlatky, a Stanford University cardiologist who had no role in the study. Results were reported Sunday at the American College of Cardiology conference and published online by the New England Journal of Medicine - Yahoo

A possible risk group for statin use

"In a patient study of over 1,000 individuals with coronary artery disease, researchers have found that high levels of an enzyme called PLTP significantly increased the risk of heart attack in the subset of patients taking statins. While follow-up studies will be needed to tease out the exact connection between PLTP and statins, this connection does suggest levels of PLTP in the blood should be a consideration for potential statin treatment" - Physorg.com