Go with the Generic

[Celebration]

http://healthcare.zdnet.com/?p=832

It was fun this morning, watching the contortions of the morning anchors as they tried to spin the bad news about Zetia without admitting the plain, simple truth.

If your cholesterol is high go with the generic.

While Zetia and Vytorin, which combines Zetia with Zocor (the name brand for a generic statin) did reduce “the numbers” your doctor looks to as markers for heart disease, they don’t cut plaque, the fatty deposit that clogs arteries and causes an attack.

The generic name for Zetia is ezetimibe. The generic name for Zocor is simvastatin.

The specific study in question dealt with folks who have super-high cholesterol levels due to a genetic defect. The numbers went down but there was no impact on heart attack rates.

Insurers’ criticism was more direct. The U.S. wasted $1.5 billion on Zetia over the last five years.

Merck stock price http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=MRK

Schering Plough stock price http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=SGP

[Warpy]

1. I always go for the generic for several reasons

First, it's significantly cheaper, something that has been important over the last 20 years that I've been uninsured.

Second, the drug has been out for the entire patent period. Any scandals about hidden research and patient injury claims will have already surfaced.

Third, its effectiveness or lack of it will have been long proven.

Fourth, did I mention it's a lot cheaper?

As for the statin drugs, it's always better to go with the generic. The drugs can be lifesavers for people with genetically high cholesterol, prolonging the time it will take for plaque to close important arteries and kill them.

The drugs aren't miraculous and they won't get rid of plaque that has already been deposited, but they will delay the formation of new deposits and prevent old deposits from thickening.

Drug companies are getting very wily, issuing combination drugs to prolong the high profit patent period for very old drugs while tinkering with others to form second generation forms to reissue and re advertise.

People are generally fools and will clamor for each new patent. Drug companies know this and act accordingly.

[postulater]

2. If you haven't already, you might be interested in

reading about a NASA doctor's experience with statins.

<http://www.spacedoc.net/>

[medeak]

3. statin study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jul 26 - Patients with asymptomatic
neuromuscular disorders may have their condition precipitated by
statin use, according to investigators from the University of Athens
Medical School.

Dr. Panagiota Manta and colleagues describe four such cases in the
July 24th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Case 1 was a 46-year-old man with a history of hypertension and
diabetes mellitus who was prescribed pravastatin for
hypercholesterolemia. Three months later, he complained of fatigue,
muscle pain and stiffness. Serum creatine kinase levels were
persistently elevated. After stopping the drug, creatine kinase
levels fell somewhat and there was mild symptom improvement. Mild
myopathy was seen on needle electromyography and muscle biopsy
showed numerous internal nuclei, nuclear clumps and variations in
fiber size. Genetic testing revealed myotonic dystrophy.

Case 2 was a 62-year-old man with a history of MI and diabetes.
Hypercholesterolemia was treated with simvastatin. Creatine kinase
levels became persistently elevated and did not return to normal
after drug discontinuation. Biopsy was positive for muscle enzyme
activity. He was eventually diagnosed with McArdle disease.

Case 3 was a 51-year-old man with hypertension and
hypercholesterolemia who was hospitalized with acute rhabdomyolytis
after taking atorvastatin for 18 months. Exercise intolerance and
muscle pain persisted for months after discontinuation of statin
therapy. Some time later, he was diagnosed with mitochondrial
myopathy.

The last case was a 58-year-old man with a history of hypertension,
hyperuricemia and coronary artery disease. He began treatment with
pravastatin. Shortly after a dose increase, he developed muscle
twitching, muscle cramps and difficulty walking. Like the other
cases, there was only mild symptom improvement and a modest decline
in creatine kinase levels after the statin was discontinued. He was
eventually diagnosed with Kennedy disease.

Statin-induced neuropathy is well recognized and reported more and
more often, Dr. Manta's group notes. These four cases show that
statins can also trigger underlying neuromuscular conditions.

The investigators suggest that if neuromuscular symptoms persist
after discontinuation of statin therapy, clinicians should "pursue
further diagnostic evaluations for the detection of underlying
neuromuscular disease."

Arch Intern Med 2006;166:1519-1524.

[medeak]

4. Dr friend had another German study translated

which had amazing evidence of statins causing Parkinson's. There is only one study going on in US not funded by pharmaceuticals and that is at USC San Diego. It's been going on for 4 yrs that I know of and haven't heard the results yet...but know many participants.

also have the following:

"dysfunctional isoprenoid pathway and related cascade are important in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease"--one of the pathways from the mevalonate pathway blocked by statins.


Hypothalamic digoxin-mediated model for Parkinson's disease
Auteur(s) / Author(s)
RAVI KUMAR KURUP (1) ; PARAMESWARA ACHUTHA KURUP (2) ;
Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)
(1) Department of Neurology, Medical College Hospital, Trivandrum, Kerala, INDE
(2) Metabolic Disorders Research Center, Trivandrum, Kerala, INDE

Résumé / Abstract
The isoprenoid pathway produces four key metabolites important in cellular function-digoxin (endogenous membrane Na<+>-K<+> ATPase inhibitor), dolichol (important in N-glycosylation of proteins ubiquinone (free-radical scavenger), and cholesterol (component of cellular membranes). This study assessed the changes in the isoprenoid pathway and the consequences of its dysfunction in Parkinson's disease (PD). There was an elevation in plasma HMG CoA reductase activity, serum digoxin and dolichol levels, and a reduction in serum magnesium, RBC membrane Na<+>-K<+> ATPase activity, and serum ubiquinone levels Serum tryptophan, serotonin, strychnine, nicotine, and quinolinic acid were elevated, while tyrosine, morphine, dopamine. and noradrenaline were decreased. The total serum glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and glycosaminoglycan fractions (except chondroitin sulphates and hyaluronic acid), the activity of GAG degrading enzymes, carbohydrate residues of serum glycoproteins, the activity of glycohydrolase-beta galactosidase, and serum glycolipids were elevated. HDL cholesterol was reduced and free fatty acids increased. The RBC membrane glycosaminoglycans, hexose and fucose residues of glycoproteins and cholesterol were reduces while phospholipid was increased. The activity of all serum free-radical scavenging enzymes, concentration of glutathione alpha tocopherol, iron binding capacity, and ceruloplasmin decreased significantly in PD, while the concentration of serum lipid peroxidation products and nitric oxide increased. A dysfunctional isoprenoid pathway and related cascade are important in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. A hypothalamic digoxin mediated model for Parkinson's disease is also postulated.
Revue / Journal Title
The International journal of neuroscience (Int. j. neurosci.) ISSN 0020-7454 CODEN IJNUB7
Source / Source
2003, vol. 113, no4, pp. 515-536 <22 page(s) (article)> (2 p.1/4)

[Celebration]

5. I found this

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070115215509.htm

Suggestions of a statin link are not new, but the results of a recent study linking low LDL cholesterol to Parkinson's provide the strongest evidence to date that it could be real, because statins work by reducing LDL cholesterol. The study by researchers at University of North Carolina showed that patients with low levels of LDL cholesterol are more than three and a half times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than those with higher LDL levels.

When asked whether she was concerned by the new results, study leader Xuemei Huang said: 'Yes I am very concerned, which is why I am planning a 16000-patient prospective study to examine the possible role of statins.' Huang was quick to point out, however, that a causal link with statins had not yet been proven. And Yoav Ben-Shlomo, a professor of clinical epidemiology at University of Bristol said that it is also a possibility that LDL cholesterol is a consequence rather than a cause of Parkinson's.

But according to Huang, the well-established link between Parkinson's and apoE2, a gene associated with lower LDL cholesterol, supports her theory that low LDL is the culprit in many cases of Parkinson's.

Huang says that if there is a link with statins, we could see big surges in the number of Parkinson's diagnoses in the next five years, because at that stage, statins will have been in common usage for more than a decade.

[Celebration]

6. interesting anecdotal report

yikes--ALS, I know someone that dies of ALS who was on statins...............

http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2006/07/subtle-effects-of-drug-sponsored.html

Parkinsonism unmasked by lovastatin.

Muller T, Kuhn W, Pohlau D, P
http://www.go3bj
my husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease 1 1/2 yrs ago( age 59 at the time) after being on Lipitor 10 mgm/day for 4+ yrs. 3 months prior to his diagnosis, my niece and I discovered our respective husbands were exhibiting the same neuro symptoms. we found both had been on lipitor for 4+ yrs. and in surface researching the drug, discovered it depletes the body of coenzyme q10. In simplistic wishful thinking way, my husband discontinued the lipitor and began taking coq10 @ 100 mgm/day. 3 moths later, the neurologist he consulted for the first time made the diagnosis of parkinson's and stated there were no "traditional" anti parkinson's drugs for early onset patients, but there was a supplement he could recommend that had shown efficacy in patients with early onset Parkinson's--that supplement: coenzyme Q10 @ 1200 mgm/day (reported in a study by Clifford Shults, et al in the Annals of Neurology, 2002). we were shocked and no longer felt it simplistic to associate Parkinson's and statin use. My husband was also an avid exerciser--was a 6 day/week jogger prior to his symptoms development (there is some evidence that those individuals who are/were avid exercisers are more prone to adverse statin effects because of the molecular effects of statins upon muscles)--my niece's husband was also an avid exciser, jogger, and scratch handicap golfer.
when first diagnosed, my husband asked a friend who is a diagnostic radiologist about PET Scan use to determine if one does have Parkinson's--when the radiologist asked why he wanted the scan my husband told him that I thought this was all a statin toxicity to which the doc replied that during the past yr he had consulted upon about 2000 patients, and 40 of those were initially diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig disease) that in fact had a statin toxicity. When my husband inquired how he knew to look for statin use in these individuals, the doc replied that his first patient with swallowing and speech difficulty diagnosed as possible ALS was his wife. If one accesses the MDA (muscular dystrophy assoc) web site, there was a feature "ask the expert"--under the heading of ALS, there were 16 questions and answers printed during a 4 month period of time. 4 of those 16 questions or 25% specifically asked if a statin was associated with the onset of ALS in each individual:http://www.mdausa.org/experts/responses.cfm?id=66

Yes, it could easily be coincidence, though could also easily be related instances.

[medeak]

7. thank you for info

will forward on to Dr friend who is petitioning FDA with studies. thanks!

edited to say Lipitor is coming out this year with Coenzyme Q-10 included. Pretty much an anknowledgement of guilt in my mind. If you see my post under heart disease Parkinson's patients are recommended to take large amts of the enzyme. As lipitor depletes it..it's natural that it would exacerbate Parkinsons

[medeak]

8. oh my gosh.... I know this person!

Madelyn...have to email her! Her affected husband is radiology oncologist. what a small world that you would find her...

[Celebration]

9. it seems quite a few ALS people suspect the statins

http://www.als.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=738

It seems as if I have heard about a lot of ALS lately.

[medeak]

10. thanks for this again

we need more junk yard dogs like you! ;-)