Statin Drug Treatment Carries Great Risk, Few Benefits
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August 17, 2004, LUND, SWEDEN: Recently revised cholesterol-lowering
guidelines constitute a major risk to public health according to The
International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics, (THINCS; www.thincs.org
<www.thincs.org/ ), a non-profit organization of doctors,
scientists and researchers. The new guidelines, aimed at even more
aggressive cholesterol lowering will result in millions more people
being placed on statins.
THINCS� members are deeply disturbed by the ever-increasing pressure to
lower blood cholesterol levels, and the underlying commercial interests
that have distorted scientific research in this area. THINCS warns that
statins have been excessively 'hyped' by the pharmaceutical industry and
medical opinion leaders who have, unfortunately, become little more
than paid advertorials.
"These drugs have been shown to produce an alarming array of side
effects," states Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD, THINCS Chairman. "Furthermore,
the public and medical profession do not realize that statins only
benefit a small and select portion of the population."
* *
Ravnskov and his colleagues worldwide point out that in the elderly, in
women of all ages and in men without heart disease, cholesterol-lowering
measures have not prevented a single death in any trial. Even in the
highest male risk groups for heart disease, statin treatment resulted in
0.5 % fewer deaths per year only, and this small benefit was found in
the most positive of all trials. Other major statin trials, e.g. ALLHAT
showed no benefit at all, a fact that has been effectively buried.
Even a small effect would of course be worthwhile provided that the
treatment was free from side effects. However, data gathered by the
THINCS group show that statin drugs cause cancer both in animals and in
human beings. Other side effects include liver damage, nerve damage,
cognitive decline, and memory loss, and statin use during pregnancy may
lead to more serious malformations than were seen after exposure to
thalidomide.
Best known is muscle damage. In severe cases this causes kidney failure
which has claimed the lives of several hundred people thus far, and
resulted in one of the worst offending statins (cerivastatin) being
withdrawn from the market.
Cardiologist Peter Langsjoen notes that statin treatment may lead to
heart muscle weakening and heart failure. "It occurs because statin
drugs block the production of coenzyme Q10, vital for the production of
cell energy" says Langsjoen. "Evidence sent to the FDA shows marked
reduction of coQ10 in patients on statin drugs."
All of these side-effects have been seen at relatively low doses. New
recommendations are to use increasingly high doses, and THINCS warn that
this will result in even more complications of treatment up to, and
including, death. Yet "to lower cholesterol even more is like chasing
windmills", says Ravnskov, "because any alleged benefits from statins
has nothing to do with lowering LDL or cholesterol."
"Statin drugs have been aggressively promoted by the pharmaceutical
industry and medical opinion leaders," says THINCS member Paul Rosch,
MD, President of the American Institute of Stress. "The new guidelines
were not written by disinterested scientists, but by members of the
medical community who have received major grants from the pharmaceutical
industry. The recommendations are based on distorted statistical
analysis of relative risk reduction that mislead doctors and the public.
They are designed to turn healthy people into patients."**
A more exhaustive release with references to the literature and other
information is available from THINCS� homepage www.thincs.org
<www.thincs.org
Contact persons:
Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD (Sweden)
www.ravnskov.nu/uffe
[email protected]
telephone: +46-(0)46145022 or +46-(0)44352086
* *
Paul Rosch, MD, Professor (New York, USA)
[email protected]
telephone: +1-914-963-1200
Kilmer McCully, MD (Boston, USA)
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-617-323-7700x5990
Joel Kauffman, Professor (Philadelphia, USA)
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-610-293-0594
Morley Sutter, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus (Vancouver, Canada)
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-604-263-5793
Malcolm Kendrick, MD (UK)
[email protected]
Telephone:
+44 (0) 1625 578798 (day)
+44 (0) 1625 502001 (eve)
+44 (0) 1625 427642 (mob)
Barry Groves, PhD (UK)
[email protected]
Telephone: +44 (0)1993 830974
