There are, to my mind, two camps of doctors in terms of their attitude to statins. Some maintain these drugs are ‘highly effective’ and very safe (and might even be put in the water supply). Others (who bother to look objectively at the research) tell us that statins only help a small minority of people […]
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Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right (why won’t those calling for statin papers to be retracted use some science?)
On 21 May my blog featured calls by Professor Sir Rory Collins for the retraction of two articles that raised issues about the safety of statins. In both articles, evidence from a particular study was misrepresented and misquoted. The BMJ has withdrawn the comments and even featured them in an editorial. But Professor Sir Rory […]
Higher potency statins linked with significantly higher risk of diabetes
This week, the BMJ has published a study that adds further to the debate regarding the safety of statins. It is officially recognised that one potential adverse-effect of statins is the development of diabetes. In this study, Canadian researchers pooled the results of several studies to see if the risk of diabetes was higher in […]
My reaction to the BMJ’s withdrawal of statements relating to the safety of statins
You may have noticed that there’s a bit of a ‘fight’ going on over the cholesterol-reducing class of drugs known as ‘statins’. I am simplifying here, but there are essentially two opposing camps. In one corner, there are those doctors and researchers who hold the view that the statins should be given to pretty much […]
Australian documentary challenging the value of statins is removed by broadcaster
Last December I wrote a blog post that referred to an episode of the Australian documentary series Catalyst, which airs on the ABC network (similar to the BBC in the UK). The programme, entitled ‘Heart of the Matter’ essentially challenged the widespread use of statins. My personal opinion (and I admit I am quite ‘statin-sceptic’) […]
Should statin ‘key opinion leaders’ be allowed to just make stuff up?
Just 2 weeks ago, one of my blog posts was dedicated to assessing the call from certain ‘experts’ that more younger women should be medicated with statins. What a shame these experts simply don’t have the data to support their position. This week, I came across an interesting piece in the New York Times. The […]
Does the claim that more intensive statin therapy is better really stand up?
This week, I noticed a tweet from the editor of the medical journal The Lancet, Richard Horton (screenshot below). The attached image seems to be a photograph of a slide from a presentation. The data comes from a review of the evidence regarding the impact of statins on health outcomes from 2010 [1]. This study […]
Where’s the evidence that treating younger women with statins will do anyone any good?
Back in February, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published draft proposals concerning the use of statins for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Previously, NICE has advised doctors to recommend treatment in those with a calculated 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease of 20 per cent or more. Now, NICE is proposing that […]
More evidence links higher cholesterol with improved immunity
While we are frequently warned about the perils of cholesterol, there exists quite a bit of evidence which links higher cholesterol levels with improved health outcomes and/or longevity in the elderly. These studies do not prove that cholesterol is conferringbenefit here (only that higher cholesterol is associated with improved outcomes). Nevertheless, it’s perhaps worth at […]
Why do some doctors prescribe cholesterol-reducing medication for which there is zero evidence of benefit?
In 2002 the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) in the US licensed the cholesterol-lowering drug ezetimibe (Zetia). This medication reduces ‘unhealthy’ LDL-cholesterol levels by about 20 per cent. The assumption here is that this will reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. When ezetimibe was licensed, all of a sudden doctors had a new […]
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