10 replies to this topic

[lucid]

Meta-Analysis Shows Statins Lower All-Cause Mortality by 9%

(January 11, 2008 - Insidermedicine) Most individuals with diabetes could benefit from statin therapy whether or not they have cardiovascular disease or multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease, according to research published in The Lancet.

Here are some recommendations on controlling lipids in patients with diabetes from the American College of Physicians:

• Use lipid-lowering therapy for secondary prevention of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity for all patients with known coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes.

• Use statins for primary prevention against macrovascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors.

• Once lipid-lowering therapy is initiated, patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus should be taking at least moderate doses of a statin.

As part of a meta-analysis, the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ (CTT) Collaborators analyzed data on over 18,000 individuals with diabetes and over 71,000 individuals without diabetes who participated in 14 randomized trials exploring the effects of lowering LDL cholesterol with statin therapy.

During a mean follow-up period of 4.3 years, 3,247 participants with diabetes experienced a vascular event. For every 1 mmol/L reduction in LDL cholesterol, individuals with diabetes experienced a 9% proportional reduction in all-cause mortality, which was similar to the 13% reduction found in those without diabetes. Also ,a one fifth proportional reduction in major vascular events was noted for each 1mmol/l decrease in LDL ,which is similar to that noted for non diabetics. This benefit from lowering LDL was not influenced by history of vascular disease, age, sex, or other baseline characteristics. Five years of statin therapy resulted in 42 fewer individuals with diabetes per 1,000 experiencing a major vascular event.

The authors conclude that the proportional benefits of statin therapy on major vascular events are similar for patients with and without diabetes and that statins benefit a wide range of diabetic patients, even those without a history of vascular disease. Only those with a very low risk for such events, like children and those in whom statin therapy is contraindicated, should be excluded from consideration for this therapy.

for the video:

http://www.insiderme..._by_9_2061.aspx

I am rather adverse to taking statins, but If I was older I would probably start popping them. Looks like they are an all around 'net +' for healthy individuals.

[shaggy]

Meta-Analysis Shows Statins Lower All-Cause Mortality by 9%

(January 11, 2008 - Insidermedicine) Most individuals with diabetes could benefit from statin therapy whether or not they have cardiovascular disease or multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease, according to research published in The Lancet.

Here are some recommendations on controlling lipids in patients with diabetes from the American College of Physicians:

• Use lipid-lowering therapy for secondary prevention of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity for all patients with known coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes.

• Use statins for primary prevention against macrovascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors.

• Once lipid-lowering therapy is initiated, patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus should be taking at least moderate doses of a statin.

As part of a meta-analysis, the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ (CTT) Collaborators analyzed data on over 18,000 individuals with diabetes and over 71,000 individuals without diabetes who participated in 14 randomized trials exploring the effects of lowering LDL cholesterol with statin therapy.

During a mean follow-up period of 4.3 years, 3,247 participants with diabetes experienced a vascular event. For every 1 mmol/L reduction in LDL cholesterol, individuals with diabetes experienced a 9% proportional reduction in all-cause mortality, which was similar to the 13% reduction found in those without diabetes. Also ,a one fifth proportional reduction in major vascular events was noted for each 1mmol/l decrease in LDL ,which is similar to that noted for non diabetics. This benefit from lowering LDL was not influenced by history of vascular disease, age, sex, or other baseline characteristics. Five years of statin therapy resulted in 42 fewer individuals with diabetes per 1,000 experiencing a major vascular event.

The authors conclude that the proportional benefits of statin therapy on major vascular events are similar for patients with and without diabetes and that statins benefit a wide range of diabetic patients, even those without a history of vascular disease. Only those with a very low risk for such events, like children and those in whom statin therapy is contraindicated, should be excluded from consideration for this therapy.

for the video:

http://www.insiderme..._by_9_2061.aspx

I am rather adverse to taking statins, but If I was older I would probably start popping them. Looks like they are an all around 'net +' for healthy individuals.

Hence the reason I take red yeast rice...seems to have all the benefits of a statin, without all the side effects.

[maxwatt]

...

Hence the reason I take red yeast rice...seems to have all the benefits of a statin, without all the side effects.

Unfortunately red rice yeast does not contain lovastatin any loner; the FDA won the fight in a later court decision. The supplement people are allowed to import red rice yeast from a strain that does not produce lovastatin. Recently several companies, including Swanson Vitamins, were fined because their Red Rice Yeast was from the active strain.

They have not yet managed to ban oyster mushrooms (pleurotes, Pleurotus ostreatus), which contain lovastatin in a therapeutic amount. They are not that expensive, are found in many groceries, and are easy to grow at home. The mushrooms themselves are a good source of spoors, needing only a sterile growing medium: Coffee grounds, oatmeal, wood chips, straw, etc. You can inoculate medium, rendered sterile by boiling, with a "tea" made by letting boiled water cool to room temperature, soaking a mushroom in it for an hour; the water should become cloudy as the mushroom releases millions of spoors. Wet the growing medium with the spoor-water. The medium should moist, not soggy. Place the medium in a largish plastic bag. Hang the bag in the open. Temperature should not be too hot. Depending on species, it can tolerate cool night temperatures. Mycellium will appear in the bag within a few days. Make several slits in the bag with a knife. Mushrooms will grow out of those slits. You can buy kits for doing this.

I found a very large cluster of pleurotes growing on an oak tree during a thaw last month, the flush weighed a pound and a half. They were delicious in a pasta sauce. To forestall remarks about mushroom poisoning, the species was positively identified, we ate them at the home of a prominent mycologist, and they were prepared by his wife.

Attached Files

•  Pleurotes.bmp   119.6KB   55 downloads

[ajnast4r]

we still sell red rice that is still std for monacolins... and people are still getting results from the un-std stuff.

[pycnogenol]

I was on Red Yeast Rice for about 6 months last year and up to Feb. '08 and it reduced my cholesterol by nearly 30 points.

Last week I had my regular AST liver/enzymes function blood tests and the results came back: 50 (H). The normal range is 5 to 45.

In the mailed report yesterday, my neurology doctor wrote in: "slightly elevated", "discontinue RYR" and "re-check liver function in 1 month."

My hematology test results were in the normal range except for my Baso percentage (%) which came back at 3.0 (H). He wrote in "OK." The normal Baso range is .0 to 2.0.

I stopped taking RYR immediately. I was taking 1200 mg daily in 2 divided doses w/CoQ10. Now Foods was the brand.

Edited by pycnogenol, 02 March 2008 - 06:47 PM.

[shaggy]

...

Hence the reason I take red yeast rice...seems to have all the benefits of a statin, without all the side effects.

Unfortunately red rice yeast does not contain lovastatin any loner; the FDA won the fight in a later court decision. The supplement people are allowed to import red rice yeast from a strain that does not produce lovastatin. Recently several companies, including Swanson Vitamins, were fined because their Red Rice Yeast was from the active strain.

They have not yet managed to ban oyster mushrooms (pleurotes, Pleurotus ostreatus), which contain lovastatin in a therapeutic amount. They are not that expensive, are found in many groceries, and are easy to grow at home. The mushrooms themselves are a good source of spoors, needing only a sterile growing medium: Coffee grounds, oatmeal, wood chips, straw, etc. You can inoculate medium, rendered sterile by boiling, with a "tea" made by letting boiled water cool to room temperature, soaking a mushroom in it for an hour; the water should become cloudy as the mushroom releases millions of spoors. Wet the growing medium with the spoor-water. The medium should moist, not soggy. Place the medium in a largish plastic bag. Hang the bag in the open. Temperature should not be too hot. Depending on species, it can tolerate cool night temperatures. Mycellium will appear in the bag within a few days. Make several slits in the bag with a knife. Mushrooms will grow out of those slits. You can buy kits for doing this.

I found a very large cluster of pleurotes growing on an oak tree during a thaw last month, the flush weighed a pound and a half. They were delicious in a pasta sauce. To forestall remarks about mushroom poisoning, the species was positively identified, we ate them at the home of a prominent mycologist, and they were prepared by his wife.

Well it might not have Lovastatin in it but it lowered my TC by nearly 40 points...last blood test was..
TC = 136
LDL = 68
HDL = 52
TG = 81

Pretty good figures I think you'll agree. My TC prior to red yeast rice was 172. The only other supplement I've added since is syntrinol, which may have helped too, although I'm yet to see any solid evidence of it efficacy regarding lowering cholesterol already in the low range.

TC

[luminous]

...

Hence the reason I take red yeast rice...seems to have all the benefits of a statin, without all the side effects.

Unfortunately red rice yeast does not contain lovastatin any loner; the FDA won the fight in a later court decision. The supplement people are allowed to import red rice yeast from a strain that does not produce lovastatin. Recently several companies, including Swanson Vitamins, were fined because their Red Rice Yeast was from the active strain.

They have not yet managed to ban oyster mushrooms (pleurotes, Pleurotus ostreatus), which contain lovastatin in a therapeutic amount. They are not that expensive, are found in many groceries, and are easy to grow at home. The mushrooms themselves are a good source of spoors, needing only a sterile growing medium: Coffee grounds, oatmeal, wood chips, straw, etc. You can inoculate medium, rendered sterile by boiling, with a "tea" made by letting boiled water cool to room temperature, soaking a mushroom in it for an hour; the water should become cloudy as the mushroom releases millions of spoors. Wet the growing medium with the spoor-water. The medium should moist, not soggy. Place the medium in a largish plastic bag. Hang the bag in the open. Temperature should not be too hot. Depending on species, it can tolerate cool night temperatures. Mycellium will appear in the bag within a few days. Make several slits in the bag with a knife. Mushrooms will grow out of those slits. You can buy kits for doing this.

I found a very large cluster of pleurotes growing on an oak tree during a thaw last month, the flush weighed a pound and a half. They were delicious in a pasta sauce. To forestall remarks about mushroom poisoning, the species was positively identified, we ate them at the home of a prominent mycologist, and they were prepared by his wife.

As tasty as those mushrooms look, I'm wondering if you think there might be a down side to taking statins?

[inawe]

we still sell red rice that is still std for monacolins... and people are still getting results from the un-std stuff.

Who are the "we" that are still selling that stuff?

[maxwatt]

As tasty as those mushrooms look, I'm wondering if you think there might be a down side to taking statins?

You do well to worry.

Statin-Associated Myopathy
Paul D. Thompson, MD; Priscilla Clarkson, PhD; Richard H. Karas, MD, PhD

JAMA. 2003;289:1681-1690.

Statins (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors) are associated with skeletal muscle complaints, including clinically important myositis and rhabdomyolysis, mild serum creatine kinase (CK) elevations, myalgia with and without elevated CK levels, muscle weakness, muscle cramps, and persistent myalgia and CK elevations after statin withdrawal. We performed a literature review to provide a clinical summary of statin-associated myopathy and discuss possible mediating mechanisms. We also update the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports on statin-associated rhabdomyolysis. Articles on statin myopathy were identified via a PubMed search through November 2002 and articles on statin clinical trials, case series, and review articles were identified via a PubMed search through January 2003. Adverse event reports of statin-associated rhabdomyolysis were also collected from the FDA MEDWATCH database. The literature review found that reports of muscle problems during statin clinical trials are extremely rare. The FDA MEDWATCH Reporting System lists 3339 cases of statin-associated rhabdomyolysis reported between January 1, 1990, and March 31, 2002. Cerivastatin was the most commonly implicated statin. Few data are available regarding the frequency of less-serious events such as muscle pain and weakness, which may affect 1% to 5% of patients. The risk of rhabdomyolysis and other adverse effects with statin use can be exacerbated by several factors, including compromised hepatic and renal function, hypothyroidism, diabetes, and concomitant medications. Medications such as the fibrate gemfibrozil alter statin metabolism and increase statin plasma concentration. How statins injure skeletal muscle is not clear, although recent evidence suggests that statins reduce the production of small regulatory proteins that are important for myocyte maintenance.

from this OVERVIEW:

There really is not much evidence that coenzyme Q10 is effective in combating fatigue and muscle pain with statins. For some patients it does make a difference, though. A number of randomised trials are ongoing, so perhaps this is a space worth watching. At least one more moderate sized trial is ongoing, completing by the end of 2007.
References:
L Marcoff, PD Thompson. The role of coenzyme Q10 in statin-associated myopathy. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2007 49: 2231-2237.
AD Hershey et al. Coenzyme Q10 deficiency and response to supplementation in pediatric and adolescent migraine. Headache 2007 47: 73-80.
G Caso et al. Effect of coenzyme Q10 on myopathic symptoms in patients treated with statins. American Journal of Cardiology 2007 99: 1409-1412.
MM Reidenberg. Statins, lack of energy and ubiquinone. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2005 59: 606-607.

If you get unexplained muscle pains, stop with the statins.

edited "joint" --> "muscle"

Edited by maxwatt, 03 March 2008 - 12:22 AM.

[inawe]

In the abstract of PMID: 18297058, it is stated that "a subset of
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, combined with propranolol, can cause
mitochondrial toxicity, yielding potential clues about the etiology of
statin myopathy". Might be nice if somebody gets ahold of the complete
paper to see what those clues are. And explain it to the rest of us.

[luminous]

As tasty as those mushrooms look, I'm wondering if you think there might be a down side to taking statins?

You do well to worry.

Statin-Associated Myopathy
Paul D. Thompson, MD; Priscilla Clarkson, PhD; Richard H. Karas, MD, PhD

JAMA. 2003;289:1681-1690.

Statins (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors) are associated with skeletal muscle complaints, including clinically important myositis and rhabdomyolysis, mild serum creatine kinase (CK) elevations, myalgia with and without elevated CK levels, muscle weakness, muscle cramps, and persistent myalgia and CK elevations after statin withdrawal. We performed a literature review to provide a clinical summary of statin-associated myopathy and discuss possible mediating mechanisms. We also update the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports on statin-associated rhabdomyolysis. Articles on statin myopathy were identified via a PubMed search through November 2002 and articles on statin clinical trials, case series, and review articles were identified via a PubMed search through January 2003. Adverse event reports of statin-associated rhabdomyolysis were also collected from the FDA MEDWATCH database. The literature review found that reports of muscle problems during statin clinical trials are extremely rare. The FDA MEDWATCH Reporting System lists 3339 cases of statin-associated rhabdomyolysis reported between January 1, 1990, and March 31, 2002. Cerivastatin was the most commonly implicated statin. Few data are available regarding the frequency of less-serious events such as muscle pain and weakness, which may affect 1% to 5% of patients. The risk of rhabdomyolysis and other adverse effects with statin use can be exacerbated by several factors, including compromised hepatic and renal function, hypothyroidism, diabetes, and concomitant medications. Medications such as the fibrate gemfibrozil alter statin metabolism and increase statin plasma concentration. How statins injure skeletal muscle is not clear, although recent evidence suggests that statins reduce the production of small regulatory proteins that are important for myocyte maintenance.

from this OVERVIEW:

There really is not much evidence that coenzyme Q10 is effective in combating fatigue and muscle pain with statins. For some patients it does make a difference, though. A number of randomised trials are ongoing, so perhaps this is a space worth watching. At least one more moderate sized trial is ongoing, completing by the end of 2007.
References:
L Marcoff, PD Thompson. The role of coenzyme Q10 in statin-associated myopathy. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2007 49: 2231-2237.
AD Hershey et al. Coenzyme Q10 deficiency and response to supplementation in pediatric and adolescent migraine. Headache 2007 47: 73-80.
G Caso et al. Effect of coenzyme Q10 on myopathic symptoms in patients treated with statins. American Journal of Cardiology 2007 99: 1409-1412.
MM Reidenberg. Statins, lack of energy and ubiquinone. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2005 59: 606-607.

If you get unexplained muscle pains, stop with the statins.

edited "joint" --> "muscle"

Thanks, maxwatt, good info as usual. My MIL had muscle pains from Lipitor--which went away when she stopped.