Lescol

Statins Before Vascular Surgery Cut Deaths, Complications

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Source: HealthDay News
A dose of a cholesterol-lowering statin before vascular surgery reduces the risk of complications and death, new Dutch research shows.
The study of nearly 500 patients who had surgery for a variety of blood-vessel problems found the incidence of heart artery blockage and deaths was halved in those who received an 80-milligram dose of [...]

Do cholesterol drugs really work?

Friday, February 27th, 2009

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I read a cover story in a national magazine that claimed there is much question about the need to lower cholesterol and to prescribe statin medicines. I can’t believe this story wasn’t front-page news, since 18 million Americans take statin drugs. People taking statins are exposed to the risks of muscle pain, [...]

Are doctors minimizing side effects of statins?

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

UCSD researcher’s report suggests some downplayed
Doctors who prescribe an increasingly popular family of drugs to prevent strokes and heart attacks may be downplaying the wide range of side effects, said a UCSD researcher who helped analyze nearly 900 studies of cholesterol-lowering statins.
Physicians who fail to recognize those complications – willfully or through ignorance – could [...]

New study supports statin’s anti-dementia effects

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

Source: Reuters Health
In the largest cohort study to date, treatment with a cholesterol-lowering statin drug was found to reduce new cases of Alzheimer’s disease, regardless of the specific type of statin used or a person’s genetic risk for the disease.
Numerous studies have looked at the relationship between statin use and the development of Alzheimer’s disease, [...]