The Truth About Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs (Statins), Cholesterol, and Health
Other than Baycol, the “statins” that are currently available in the
- Lipitor (atorvastatin) – Pfizer
- Zocor (simvastatin) – Merck
- Pravachol (pravastatin) – Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Lescol (fluvastatin) – Novartis
- Mevacor (lovastatin) – Merck
Click on the individual drug names above to view their prescribing information, commonly known as the “package inserts”.
Articles related to the Baycol/Statin safety issue:
· Statins – Is the Danger is the Dose? – Here is the hard data on Baycol associated adverse reactions. If you or someone you know is taking one of the ‘statin’ cholesterol-lowering drugs, this is a “must read” article by Jay Cohen, MD, to help you understand the potential dangers that this exposes you to.
· Baycol Pulled From Market as Numerous Deaths Linked to It – Baycol, a cholestrol-lowering drug (Statin), has been voluntarily pulled off the market because of numerous deaths associated with its use.
· The Baycol Recall: How Safe Is Your Statin? – With the recall of Baycol, patients are now searching out a new drug to take its place, but are other statins really safe? Here are some precautions necessary for anyone taking Baycol or any statin.
· Baycol: Another Fluoride Drug Bites the Dust – Baycol is just one of many fluoride drugs to be pulled from the market do to health hazards posed. Read about this and some of the others in this informative article written by Andreas Schuld and Wendy Small.
· BMJ: Bayer faces potential fine over cholesterol lowering drug – Bayer might have to pay a fine to the German government of about $23,400 for withholding from the German authorities information on the drug’s potentially fatal interaction with another drug.
· Lipitor Tied to Liver, Kidney Injury, as Well as Muscle Damage – It seems that Baycol is not alone among cholesterol lowering drugs in posing serious dangers to the public. A number of legal actions are also being pursued against Pfizer Inc., the manufacturer of the Lipitor.
· Reuters: Bayer pulls Baycol from Japan, mkt focus on suits
· Reuters: Bayer admits Baycol linked to more than 1,100 cases of muscle
weakness
· AP: New fatalities linked to statin drugs
- USA Today: Warning labels urged for cholesterol drugs
- Reuters: Group Wants Tougher Warning on Statins
· Reuters: Baycol News Prompts EU Review of Cholesterol Drug
Related stories can be found below:
· New Cholesterol Guidelines Issued
· New Cholesterol Guidelines for Converting Healthy People into Patients
· Cholesterol Drugs: How Expensive Is Too Expensive?
· Cholesterol Lowering Drugs Suppress Immune System
· Low Cholesterol Causes Aggressive Behavior
· Low Cholesterol Linked to Stroke Risk
· Low Cholesterol Linked to Depression
· Low Cholesterol Linked to Violence
Excerpts from Public Citizen’s Health Research Group’s Petition To Require A Box Warning on All HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors (“Statins”):
“… Public Citizen, representing 135,000 consumers nationwide, hereby petitions the FDA pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act 21, U.S.C. Section 355(e)(3), and C.F.R. 10.30, to add a black box warning and additional consistent bolded warnings about this serious problem to the label of all statins marketed in the United States.”
” Doctors and the public must be warned to immediately discontinue use of statin drugs at the onset of muscle pain, muscle tenderness, muscle weakness or tiredness.”
” Prompt cessation of the use of statins at the first sign of muscle pain, muscle tenderness, muscle weakness or tiredness and prompt evaluation by a physician including a blood test for creatine phosphokinase ( a measure of muscle destruction) may avoid the progression to more extensive muscle damage, rhabdomyolysis, and death.”
“Rhabdomyolysis has been reported with all statins currently marketed in the