There is generally unbridled enthusiasm in the medical establishment for cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins. While they do have the ability to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes, they don’t appear to reduce overall risk of death in individuals who have no history of cardiovascular disease when they start taking them (primary prevention).
Also, you need to treat lots of people with statins for one person to benefit over a five-year time period. In my opinion, they just aren’t the wonder drugs some people portray them to be.
The other side to statins, like all medication, is that taking them is not without risk. They are known to deplete coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in the body, which can lead to symptoms such as muscle fatigue and muscular pain.
One of the problems with the side effects of statins is that there’s not enough recognition of them. One reason appears to be that doctors are generally reluctant to entertain the notion that someone’s symptoms might be a result of the statins they’re taking.
One potential problem here is that the side effects of statins can start a long time after drug therapy is commenced. Because of this, it can be difficult for some doctors to look to statins as the potential cause of someone’s symptoms.
However, I was reading an article yesterday that suggests another reason why there is a lack of acknowledgement about the side effects of statins: Drug companies don’t want you to know about them.
The article, published in the Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin (“Uncommon Knowledge,” Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin 2009; 47:121), makes the point that in February 2008, the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority stated: “Following a review of clinical trial data, spontaneous reports of suspected adverse drug reactions, and published literature, product information for statins is being updated to reflect a number of different side effects as class effects of all statins.”
Yet, two years later, these warnings have not made it into product information inserts. The folks at the Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin have discovered why: The proposed updates regarding side effects has been delayed throughout the European Union (EU) because “one of the innovator MA (marketing authorization) Holders was not in agreement with this wording.”
The article goes on to say: “In other words, a drug company has been able to stall the inclusion of key safety warnings. In our view, this situation is unacceptable and should be rectified quickly. The longer it persists, the bigger the impression that EU regulatory systems are more sensitive to the needs of the pharmaceutical industry than to the welfare of patients.”
Even when science turns up problems, drug companies will do what they can to prevent such information seeing the light of day. Who cares that people are wandering around needlessly suffering from fatigue, muscle pain, depression, and impotence, as long as money is being made?
Dr. John Briffa is a London-based physician and author with an interest in nutrition and natural medicine. His Web site is Drbriffa.com
