People With Normal Cholesterol May Benefit From Statins
New research reveals that statin cholesterol drugs may be beneficial to people who don't have high cholesterol. Statin drugs are defined as drugs that "lower cholesterol by limiting the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which is the rate-limiting" metabolic process in synthesis of cholesterol. In addition to lowering bad cholesterol levels, statin drugs can help block receptors in the liver, resulting in clearing of low density lipoprotein (LDL), the bad kind of cholesterol, from the blood. With so many beneficial properties associated with statin drugs, it is easy to see how they could benefit even people with normal cholesterol levels.
The research in the article focuses on a clinical trial where patients presented with low to normal cholesterol levels but slightly to highly elevated C-reactive protein levels. C-reactive protein is a protein that characteristically marks inflammation. At the moment, it is not routine to even test for C-reactive protein in patients with high cholesterol or other risk factors for heart disease. Based on this article's findings, it is arguable that this protein should be monitored in high risk patients.
The study was led by Dr. Paul Ridker of Brigham and Women's hospital in Boston. The statin drug used for the trial was AstraZeneca's Crestor, also known as rosuvastatin. Their findings were that Crestor "slashed deaths, heart attacks, strokes and artery-clearing procedures in apparently healthy patients." The team looked at the number of patients that over a five year period would have a major cardiac problem prevented from taking the drug. Their findings indicated that 20 of their patients would have a problem prevented, as opposed to 44 out of the same number of patients that were high cholesterol patients on the drug.
"This study suggests that many patients outside our current treatment guidelines could benefit substantially from statin therapy," said Ridker in an interview. Based on this article, it appears that statin drug therpay would be beneficial to a larger number of people who currently would not be put on the drug. The reason that I found this article interesting is because it seems that the situation where a drug could apply to more people than it is currently used for seems like it could be quite common in medicine. Obviously more research would need to be done and the side effects of statin drugs would need to be weighed against the benefits, but at the bare minimum, C-reactive protein levels should be monitored in patients who are at risk for heart disease.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,554166,00.html?sPage=fnc/health/cholesterol
David Szafron
The research in the article focuses on a clinical trial where patients presented with low to normal cholesterol levels but slightly to highly elevated C-reactive protein levels. C-reactive protein is a protein that characteristically marks inflammation. At the moment, it is not routine to even test for C-reactive protein in patients with high cholesterol or other risk factors for heart disease. Based on this article's findings, it is arguable that this protein should be monitored in high risk patients.
The study was led by Dr. Paul Ridker of Brigham and Women's hospital in Boston. The statin drug used for the trial was AstraZeneca's Crestor, also known as rosuvastatin. Their findings were that Crestor "slashed deaths, heart attacks, strokes and artery-clearing procedures in apparently healthy patients." The team looked at the number of patients that over a five year period would have a major cardiac problem prevented from taking the drug. Their findings indicated that 20 of their patients would have a problem prevented, as opposed to 44 out of the same number of patients that were high cholesterol patients on the drug.
"This study suggests that many patients outside our current treatment guidelines could benefit substantially from statin therapy," said Ridker in an interview. Based on this article, it appears that statin drug therpay would be beneficial to a larger number of people who currently would not be put on the drug. The reason that I found this article interesting is because it seems that the situation where a drug could apply to more people than it is currently used for seems like it could be quite common in medicine. Obviously more research would need to be done and the side effects of statin drugs would need to be weighed against the benefits, but at the bare minimum, C-reactive protein levels should be monitored in patients who are at risk for heart disease.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,554166,00.html?sPage=fnc/health/cholesterol
David Szafron
posted by dszafron at 8:32 PM
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