Posted on 03/26/2007 12:25:44 PM PDT by Nachum
NEW ORLEANS -- The hot new strategy of trying to prevent heart disease by raising good cholesterol had more setbacks Monday as new studies showed that experimental drugs didn't work and also had safety problems.
The news follows Pfizer Inc.'s abandonment in December of an $800 million investment in torcetrapib, the leading contender in this class of drugs, because it raised the risk of heart attacks and deaths.
Heart specialists have been anxious to know whether the problems extend to all such drugs and doom this approach.
"A lot of people think it's the next big thing, and we'll need to understand what went wrong with torcetrapib to move forward," said Dr. Steven Nissen, a Cleveland Clinic heart specialist who is president of the American College of Cardiology.
The new studies, reported at the group's conference, gave a mixed answer. The Pfizer drug seems uniquely risky, but other drugs have problems, too.
And even though they and the Pfizer drug raised HDL good cholesterol as intended, that made no difference in the odds of heart attacks or deaths, or key measures of cholesterol buildup in arteries.
Doctors long have focused on lowering LDL, or bad cholesterol, to cut heart attack risk. Statins, sold as Lipitor and Zocor and also in generic form, lower LDL, which ferries fats from food into the bloodstream.
But many statin users suffer heart attacks anyway, so doctors have been trying to boost HDL, or good cholesterol - which transports fat from the blood to the liver to be disposed of - to further lower risk.
An extended-release niacin drug called Niaspan, sold by Kos Pharmaceuticals Inc., does this. But it can cause a prickly hot sensation called flushing that some people find intolerable. Pfizer, Merck & Co. and Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG are testing drugs that boost HDL in a novel way.
On Monday, scientists reported the results of several studies on torcetrapib. In one, the drug boosted HDL by 61 percent, but trends in death, hospitalization and heart attacks "are all going in the wrong direction," Nissen said.
An experimental diabetes drug by Eli Lilly and Co. that is 10,000 times more potent than fibrates, a current cholesterol treatment, also proved disappointing. The new drug raised HDL but also raised the risk of kidney, heart and other serious problems, Nissen reported.
Finally, infusions of a reconstituted form of HDL developed by CSL Ltd., an Australian company, made no big difference in the burden of artery buildups in a study led by Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif of the Montreal Heart Institute.
In several of these studies there were hints of some improvements in less important measures of artery buildup, which provides "a glimmer of hope for future development of this class of drugs," Dr. Alan Tall of Columbia University writes in an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine.
That journal and the Journal of the American Medical Association published several of the new studies.
"The bar has been raised a lot for this entire class, but I do not think we can abandon this entire approach," Nissen said.
If Baycol had been the first statin tested and research had stopped after safety problems emerged, there wouldn't even be this class of drugs, he noted. Baycol, sold by Bayer AG, was withdrawn from the market in 2001 after reports of a severe and sometimes fatal muscle disorder.
Mine too !
Well, cholesterol does begin accumulating in your arteries at around 100 mg/dl, and seeing how the average human has a cholesterol level of 130 mg/dl...
We're pretty unique in that regard. There aren't many animals that I know of that are as atherogenic as we are.
EDTA
Red Yeast Rice
Niacin
Omega Fish Oil
Also, do aerobic exercise 3 times a week, avoid animal fat and do not eat trans fats under any circumstances. And don't smoke.
You don't need prescriptions or surgery to prevent your heart attack.
You got that right! Doctor's don't give a crap. You can complain of muscle cramps, pain, numbness and they just ignore you. I wound up in ER when on Lipitor (for several of the side effects, the worst being pain in the area of the kidneys, and all the other statins cause such terrible cramps all over the body. Lovastatin (Niacin) caused such terrible flushing. The pharmacist said to stop taking it. When I contacted my Dr's. office he said to wait til my next visit and we'd discuss it. I used to get terrible cramps nearly every night, and now I get maybe 1 every two months.
There was a thread about the stain drugs making people feel bad a while ago. I don't remember the name of the thread though. It was about a month ago I think. Lots of people having the same problem with aches and pains, not feeling good the whole time since they started the drug. Try a search or two.
What is EDTA and will this combination help prevent strokes as well?
Thanks.
The uderlying cause for all of the lipid imbalances is chromium shortage and iron overload. Take chromium and give blood and lipids correct themselves.
You can Google it. There is plenty of info on it out there. It is an anti-toxin that removes lead and other minerals from your blood. It is also an excellent clot preventer. Most of the blood you get in a transfusion from the blood banks has EDTA in it to prevent clotting
Some credible experts believe EDTA clears out the calcium deposits and clears the arteries. It probably helps, but is not likely a cure-all in that regard. But it is a great clot preventer and is better medicine than Plavix or any prescription drug.
EDTA is a blood thinner, so it's wise to be aware that if you cut yourself it will take longer for the wound to scab, and serious injury might result in hemorage Heart disease is such a factor for me that this is a risk I will gladly accept.
Also, since it removes minerals, you should take a mineral supplement when you take EDTA. Most retailers sell the two together. I have been taking EDTA for many years with no side effects.
I forgot to answer the part about strokes. Yes. Strokes and heart attacks are caused by the same disease.
Yep, lovastatin caused cramps with me also, then one day I noticed my legs didn't feel right, they felt heavy and stiff, but just for about 20 seconds. I quit taking it then and there, the cramps went away and my legs have never felt that way again. Doc didn't like it but I told him they weren't his legs so he could take a statin all he wanted to but I wasn't going to.
Regarding EDTA, I have read good things about it, but just don't know. Supposedly, the Fed's are studying chelation therapy with it right now. I see startling testimonials on the internet, and others dismissing it as hogwash. I do take a few drops orally now and then, just don't know whether to spend the money on IV EDTA or not. Since things are going relatively well now, I'm going with "not" until I hear more info. Whatever it takes to keep from ever getting split open again, is what I'll do. That was rough!
I instinctively think the pushups and particularly squats are good for you. Off to the gym~!
how long did it take for your levels to drop?
Thank you so much for all the info.
May I ask what is the maximum Iron we should be taking?
I'm 39 and female.
I don't really believe the hype about the roto-rooter effects of EDTA. But hearts attacks are caused by the combination of artery wall thickening and clots. EDTA is the best clot blocker out there, bar none. It's better than aspirin or Plavix, which is why the blood banks use it.
My rationale for taking it is that the anti-clotting benefits alone are worth it, and if it is also removing calcium deposits and eliminating them through my urine, as some credible doctors claim, so much the better.
Mine went down about the same amount. My doc wanted to put me on statins and I refused. I put myself on a a serving of red wine (deep red...Merlot, Zinfindel, the like) every evening and I take Niacin, 500mg a day if I think about it. I didn't change anything else...I still eat butter and eggs and ice cream whenever I want it. The only food item I cut down on was Crisco. I don't use it in my cooking.
It's remained down now for well over a year.
And yes, the niacin causes a prickly warm feeling which I just "experience". I guess after "experiencing" natural childbirth and running a marathon, a little warm prickly feeling is nothing.
You can avoid the Niacin flush with an extended or slow release Niacin.
But if what you're doing is working for you, maybe live with the prickling. Just a suggestion.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
