Stock Research - Statin Drugs (Cholesterol Fighters) and New Side
Effects Revealed?
Submitted by richardstoyeck
More than 40 million people in the United States take Statin Drugs
every day. The purpose is to lower your LDL (BAD) Cholesterol. Statin
drugs along with penicillin, and aspirin, may well be the three greatest
drugs ever developed. These cholesterol fighting drugs have been known
to lower your bad cholesterol by as much as 25% to 40% depending upon
your unique body chemistry, and the actual dosage that you take.
Statin drugs are the most profitable drugs manufactured by the major
drug firms. The five principal drug companies and their respective
statin drugs are:
Name of Drug Company Generic Name Brand Name
Merck (Stock Symbol MRK) Zocor Simvastatin
Merck Mevacor Lovastatin
Pfizer Lipitor Atorvastatin
AstraZeneca Crestor Rosuvstatin
Kos Pharaceuticals Advicor Lovastatin
Abbott Labatories Lescol Fluvastatin
Research has shown that half the people in this country who suffer
heart attacks have NORMAL Cholesterol levels at the time of their
attack. That’s right; half the heart attack victims are NORMAL.
This implies that your Total Cholesterol level is not the MAGIC KEY
that doctors are looking for. We also know that if you drive your
LDL (BAD) Cholesterol level down to 60, heart disease seems to stop
dead in its tracks. LDL Cholesterol is a subset of your Total Cholesterol.
It is just one component of your Cholesterol, but obviously a very
important one.
Here’s the Potential PROBLEM???
We know that all drugs have side effects. Manufacturers attempt to
measure and quantify these side effects during the FDA approved clinical
trials. These trials take place prior to a drug’s mass distribution
to the public. Sometimes, certain side effects do not become apparent
until years after the drug’s release.
Dr. Ralph Edwards is the director of the drug-monitoring center of
the World Health Organization (WHO). He possesses a data base containing
4 million people, the drugs they take, and the side effects they report.
He has found 172 people in that data base who developed Lou Gehrig’s
disease or something similar. All 172 had been taking prescription
drugs. Of these, 40 had been taking statin drugs, which is the subject
of our discussion.
Statistically, no more than ten patients should have been taking
statin drugs and reported this type of result. It is a statistically
unexplainable event. In other words too many people taking statin
drugs are reporting the development of Lou Gehrig’s disease,
or similar type illnesses. We are not saying there is a direct correlation
between the use of the statin drug and the onset of these crippling
diseases. There is without question, cause for immediate and further
study.
In addition, if you are taking any of the statin drugs listed in
this article, and you are experiencing any type of side effects at
all, INFORM YOUR DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY. Call him TODAY, not TOMMORROW.
Throughout the decades the major drug companies have attempted to
downplay drug side effects. This explains the FDA’s policy for
decades of keeping drug side effects quiet. They were not published
in the media. The World Health Organization is under no such requirement.
Over the last couple of years, the FDA in response to public demand
has published their drug findings on the Internet on a quarterly basis.
PATIENT BEWARE
Most of us were taught the term caveat emptor, which means BUYER
BEWARE. We now must use the term PATIENT BEWARE. We have a responsibility
to our loved ones, and ourselves to be aware of the adverse effects
of the drugs we are using. In the 21st century, we are in a period
of information overload. There is simply too much information coming
at all of us to digest. This includes doctors. We as patients can
not be completely reliant on our doctors being 100% knowledgeable
about the adverse events that can be produced by the drugs their patients
are taking. You must be informed yourself. For a more elaborate version
of this article, please see our website.
Goodbye and Good Luck
Richard Stoyeck
StocksAtBottom.com
About the Author
Richard Stoyeck’s background includes being a limited partner
at Bear Stearns, Senior VP at Lehman Brothers, Kuhn Loeb, Arthur Andersen,
and KPMG. Educated at Pace University, NYU, and Harvard University,
today he runs Rockefeller Capital Partners and StocksAtBottom.com
Value Investing at StocksAtBottom.com/ez.html
