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June 12th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda MONDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) — Statins — the popular class
of cholesterol-lowering drugs — significantly increase the risk of
experiencing a drop in energy or becoming unduly tired when exercising,
according to new research.
The finding stems from work tracking about 1,000 adults, and includes
well-known shelf names Pravachol and Zocor, both designed to reduce levels
of the so-called “bad” cholesterol known as low-density lipoprotein, or
LDL.
“We found that even at comparatively modest doses, statins were
associated with a not-inconsequential drop in energy in some patients, a
rise in fatigue with exertion in others and sometimes both,” said study
lead author Dr. Beatrice Golomb, associate professor of medicine at the
University of California-San Diego.
“This was true for both men and women,” she added. “But it appears to
be more of a problem for female patients.”
Golomb and her colleagues discuss their findings in a research letter
published online June 11 in the journal Annals of Internal
Medicine.
To explore a possible connection between statins and
exhaustion/fatigue, the authors focused on nearly 700 men and more than
300 women from the San Diego region. All were over the age of 20 and had
elevated LDL levels, but none had a history of either heart disease or
diabetes at the study launch.
For treatment, all were randomly assigned to receive one of three
treatments: 40 milligrams of Pravachol (pravastatin), the most
water-soluble statin; 20 mg of Zocor (simvastatin), the most fat-soluble
statin; or a sugar-pill placebo.
The result: Patients on either of the two statins were found to be much
more likely than those taking a sugar pill to experience either or both
types of energy loss.
Zocor patients, however, appeared to face a greater risk for fatigue.
Zocor achieved a much bigger drop in LDL levels than Pravachol, the study
also found.
Although neither Lipitor (atorvastatin) nor Crestor (rosuvastatin) were
tested, the team noted that the LDL-lowering impact of each (at 10mg and
2.5mg to 5mg, respectively) are comparable to that of the drugs that were
included in the investigation.
The team further observed that women seemed to be “disproportionately
affected” by the statins when it came to energy loss or fatigue.
For example, 40 percent of women taking Zocor said they experienced
energy loss or fatigue with exercise, while 20 percent said they
experienced both (with 10 percent saying they fared “much worse” on both
fronts).
Golomb noted that, for men, the same risks for energy loss and fatigue
logged in at just 25 percent of what was found among women in every
side-effect category.
“Overall, I have to say that the magnitude of the effect was
surprising, despite the fact that we had previous reports indicating there
was a problem,” she said.
“So far, the only group for whom the benefits of taking statins has
clearly been shown to outweigh the risks has been men under the age of 70
who have heart disease,” Golomb added. “The findings have been, at best,
equivocal for women, even if they have heart disease. And the same is true
even for most middle-aged men at high risk who don’t have heart
disease.”
“When you add to that the fact that these drugs can have a strong
negative impact on a patient’s quality of life, I think there is a
rationale for rethinking their use among many individuals,” Golomb
concluded. “Preventive medicine should only be used when the benefits
clearly outweigh the risks.”
Dr. Scott Wright, a professor of medicine and preventive cardiologist
with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., cautioned that although he would
characterize the findings as “important,” the conclusions would have to be
validated upon further investigation.
“Because the problem here is that they used an internal scale to
determine fatigue and discomfort levels,” he explained. “That means their
way of measuring both have not been validated in the medical world, and so
we don’t know if their findings would actually apply to the general
population.”
“More work will have to be done before these findings can affect or
change the practice of medicine with respect to statin use,” Wright
said.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health funded the study.
More information
For more on statins, visit the U.S.
National Library of Medicine.
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