My father (a retired doctor) is not one for pronouncements, though I do remember him offering me one piece of advice about how to be a good doctor: listen to your patients. I was reminded of this simple but sagely dictum recently on the reading of a study which assessed the response doctors give to […]
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Doctors question the use of statins in the elderly
In previous posts I’ve expressed a distinct lack of enthusiasm for cholesterol-reducing statin drugs. These medicaments are very much in vogue as a result of their much-touted ability to reduce the risk of ‘cardiovascular’ conditions such as heart disease and stroke. However, a better measure of the effectiveness of a ‘preventive’ treatment such as statin […]
Another less-than-impressive study trumpets the ‘benefits’ of statins
It seems like a week doesn’t go by without more yet more research coming to light which paints the cholesterol-reducing drugs known as ‘statins’ as wonder drugs. The latest example of such research was published earlier this month in the Annals of Internal Medicine [1]. The study was an analysis of individuals aged 65 or […]
What’s so unhealthy about ‘going to work on an egg’?
Driving this morning I was listening to the radio and learned that the British Egg Information Service has been banned from resurrecting the ‘go to work on an egg’ ad campaign to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the ‘British Lion’ mark that adorns eggs here in the UK. Apparently, the Broadcasting Advertising Clearance Centre […]
CoQ10 found to reverse the side-effects of statin drugs
It is my experience that the cholesterol-reducing drugs known as ‘statins’ have been vigorously embraced by the medical profession as a largely safe and effective preventive for cardiovascular disease. Yes, the best available evidence we have is that this class of drugs have somewhat limited effectiveness. I wrote about this earlier this year. Another side […]
The great cholesterol con?
For something that hardly anyone had heard of 20 years ago, cholesterol has become something of a phenomenon. We are encouraged to keep a lid on our cholesterol levels the recommended amount of which in the blood seems to be in perpetual decline. And this is there is quite a lot of political pressure put […]
Hailed ‘METEOR’ statin trial results not as stellar as we are led to believe
Back in December, I wrote a blog post which focused on the habit drug companies have of causing the medical profession and the public at large to forget what medicine is for [1]. The point I made is that much of medical research is not focused on health itself, but what are known as ‘surrogate’ […]
Drug companies charged with using money to influence treatment guidelines
Not uncommonly, I use drbriffa.com to draw attention to how conflict of interest might influence health advice. One of the areas that seems quite badly affected in this respect is the recommendations that we get regarding drug therapy. Only last week, I was writing about how it seems we have not been given the full […]
Statin drugs shown to be largely ineffective for the majority of people who take them, but why does this fact seem to have passed researchers by?
Over the last decade or two, it seems that increasing pressure has been put on us to have our cholesterol levels measured, and to do something about them if these turn out to be ‘raised’. Elevated cholesterol levels in the bloodstream is often said to be a potent risk factor for so-called ‘cardiovascular’ disease – […]
How drug companies can cause us to forget what ‘medicine’ is really for
What are doctors and medicine for? To help people achieve better health, and maybe even save some lives, right? Well, over the last decade or so I’ve noticed that certain factions within the medical establishment seem to have, largely, forgotten this. We doctors, it occurs to me, are being asked to put more and more […]
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