Archive for June, 2009
Thursday, June 18th, 2009
About JUPITER
Recall that JUPITER is an acronym for “Justification for the Use of Statins in Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin.” The JUPITER trials were intended to justify the use of a class of cholesterol lowering medications known as statins on apparently healthy patients who had:
- Normal cholesterol levels (They did not need cholesterol lowering medication)
- Elevated levels of c-reactive protein (CRP) indicating the prevalence of inflammation
The purpose of the trial was to determine whether such patients could benefit from the inflammation fighting properties of statins. The actual statin used in the study was Rosuvastatin marketed by AstraZeneca as Crestor. I discussed the JUPITER trials in a previous post .
JUPITER epitomises what is wrong with the current medical paradigm
(more…)
Tags: astrazeneca, cardiovascular disease, crestor, diabetes, exercise, jupiter, lifestyle, ridker, rosuvastatin, statins, tlc
Posted in cadiovascular disease, diabetes, exercise, fitness, obesity | 2 Comments »
Sunday, June 14th, 2009
Or: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Who shall guard the guardians themselves)
In my previous post I analysed the results of the JUPITER drug trials. I demonstrated that, for the participants, the benefits of taking Rosuvastatin (Crestor) were slight while the risks were far from negligible.
I shall now explain how this translates into a difference of opinion with Healthy Skepticism. However, first, a general comment.
(more…)
Tags: ama, australian medical association, crestor, ethics, healthy skepticism, jupiter, mansfield, prescribing
Posted in medical ethics | 9 Comments »
Sunday, June 14th, 2009
In a previous post I stated that I had a philosophical difference with Healthy Skepticism, an organisation dedicated to combating misleading drug promotions. Dr Peter Mansfield, the founder of Healthy Skepticism, posted a comment in which he stated that no philosophical differences existed.
I am afraid that I must respectfully differ with Dr. Mansfield. I do have a philosophical difference or, at any rate, a difference of opinion, with Healthy Skepticism. Rather than argue in the abstract I shall use a “case study” to illustrate our differences. To be specific I shall analyse the much hyped JUPITER study on the use of the cholesterol lowering drug, Rosuvastatin. AstraZeneca markets Rosuvastatin as “Crestor.”
(more…)
Tags: astrazeneca, cardiovascular disease, crestor, healthy skepticism, heart, inflammation, jupiter, mansfield, rosuvastatin, stroke
Posted in cadiovascular disease | 7 Comments »
Sunday, June 7th, 2009
I was quite startled to get Mr. Aase’s comment. This website is still very much in the experimental stage. I didn’t even know anyone other than me was reading it!
(more…)
Tags: aase, doctor education, lee, mayo clinic, pharmaceutical
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Saturday, June 6th, 2009
This post is a diversion from heart attacks to discuss the AstraZeneca video.
(more…)
Tags: abc, astrazeneca, attack, crestor, drug company, healthy skepticism, heart, norman swan, pharmaceutical
Posted in cadiovascular disease | 9 Comments »
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
A Recapitulation
- The coronary arteries carry oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood to that amazing little pump called a heart.
- Most heart attacks occur when a coronary artery becomes blocked. The part of the heart muscle supplied by the blocked artery quickly dies.
- Heart muscle does not regenerate. Once part of your heart muscle dies it’s gone forever.
- Those dreaded LDLs seem to play a role in causing arterial blockage and heart attacks.
What is the role of LDLs? How do LDLs cause arterial blockage? These are the questions I’m going to be tackling in my next three posts. The answers are not as straightforward as you may think. In fact, we do not yet know all the answers.
(more…)
Tags: artery, astrazeneca, atheroma, atheroslcerosis, attack, cholesterol, coronary, crestor, HDL, heart, LDL
Posted in cadiovascular disease | 2 Comments »