>> >>: About one in four American adultsÊ there's been a surge of research about the
side affects of the widely prescribed drugs.
Joining me is Dr.ÊBEATRICE GOLOMB, also with us is cardiologist, MIMI, GUARNERI.
Thank you for joining me here today.
I'm going to start with you first.
Let's talk about what class of drugs in the study it was STATENCE.
What specific drug did you look at?
>> >>: The drugs people would know best by their names; the extremes of being the most
fat soluble and water soluble.
These properties have been thought to contribute differences between the drugs.
Also they were dh most widely prescribed STAtENTS and LIPITOR surpassed them.
They were the number 2 and number three most prescribed.
>> >>: All would qualify for this study?
>> >>: The purpose of choosing those two was the hope they would reflect the properties,
particularly if the findings were CONCORDANT.
>> >>BEATRICE GOLOMB: This study looked at the issues with energy.
These are problems reported by patients on STATEN.
This was a double blind PLACEBO controlled test, we asked them about their energy level
and fatigue at WAIS line and asked about any change in fallow up.
>> >>: This isn't the first side affect report said.
The FDA issued some warnings in February for label use for other serious side effects like
liver problems and memory loss.
What has been your experience in seeing patients on STATENTS.
>> >>: I think the most important thing is to know when to use them.
They are antiinflammatory.
They can deplete the bawd ee of important nutrients, fatty acids in the membranes, vitamin
E in the cell membrane, and even CAROTENE.
We need to know the down stream affects of these drugs.
And that helps us understand why this great study found fatigue.
>> >>: Let's talk if you could briefly explain what cholesterol is and how it moves through
the body.
>> >>: Most cholesterol comes from the food we eat.
If we eat from an animal, beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey or fish, it has cholesterol.
Cholesterol itself is not the problem.
It gets into the lining of the blood vessel and it is changed, it becomes oxidized or
di CHOSOLATED.
Then picked up by these white blood cells.
When they break, damage the lining of the blood vessel.
So it's not the cholesterol that's the problem, it's what happens to it usually the result
of inflammation that leads to the issued.
>> >>: And the issues kneeing stroke, heart attackÊ
>> >>: Absolutely.
Mainly stroke and heart attack.
Those are the two big ones also blockage in the arteries in the legs.
>> >>: And I wanted to come back to you, how does STAtENT lower cholesterol.
How do they break up the cholesterol packs in the blood cells.
>> >>BEATRICE GOLOMB: The reason they lower cholesterol is by blocking the rate limiting
stuff that reduces cholesterol.
It turns out dollar are other mechanisms but that might be too complicated.
>> >>PEGGY: How do they cause fatigue, talking about mechanisms?
>> >>BEATRICE GOLOMB: One of the majors ways it causes fatigue is relates to some of the
things Dr.ÊGUARNERI mentioned.
They limed things directly involved in cell energy production, and is the key antioxidant
may made in the body.
It turns out antioxidants are particularly important for the energy producing cells themselves.
There's a targets they protect against.
Cholesterol is not just the case, part of the pathway that STATenS is prohibit.
Cholesterol is produced in every cell of the body, it transports key vitamins, including
vietdman E, the precursors for vitamin A, and vitamin D, even though it has its own
transport protein has cells taken up in the lipids.
>> >>PEGGY: It's import tonight have some cholesterolÊ I don't have a whole lot of
time, but want foo ask you both, who should be taking STATENS and who should not?
Who after all of this study and the knowledge we know should be taking STATENS.
>> >>: My index of the that individual has benefits will out cause mortality or serious
events and by this criterion, men under the age of 70 or 75 on average receive benefit,
life extension, et set raw.
Women if they have heart disease or elderly, generally have not been found to have life
extension or cause benefit.
>> >>PEGGY: That would justÊ so women, not so much, so what is, just breerly an alternative?
>> >>: We have lots of options.
First eat lots of fiber, limit animal products, and then we have NIACIN lowers LDL, we have
planstanals.
If you come and see a good CARDIOLOGIST, we're going to get you eating roilgt right, and
you have to say to your audience, the STATENS affect THYROID function.
We can't forget that part as well.
>> >>PEGGY: You can hear a lot more about this discussion, obviously a huge discussion
on our website at KPBS.org.
Thank you so much for joining us.