The jury is in: Statins are Bad News
Statins harm more people than they help. According to a recent study of millions of statin users, cholesterol-lowering drugs are over prescribed, over hyped, over advertised and much more dangerous than conventional wisdom implies. Big Pharma (with $33 Billion in statin sales worldwide last year – Lipitor alone made $13.6 million) touts statins as “miracle” drugs that prevent heart attacks and strokes. But a study published in the British Medical Journal documents statin users who suddenly or gradually lost their minds, muscle, liver or eyesight. (See study analysis and potential alternatives.)
Two Million Statin Users Studied
The study concerned 2,004,692 patients aged 30-84 (including 225,922 new statin users) and found statin use associated with moderate or serious liver dysfunction, acute renal failure, moderate or serious myopathy (muscle disease), and cataract. For every heart attack the drug prevented, more people suffered liver damage, kidney failure, cataracts or extreme muscle weakness as a result of taking their statin. So the study showed that statins harm more people than they help.
Julia Hippisley-Cox and Carol Coupland – who led the 2010 British Medical Journal statin study – found that for every 10,000 women treated with statins, there were only 271 fewer cases of heart disease compared to an extra 74 cases of liver damage, 23 cases of acute kidney failure, 39 cases of extreme muscle weakness and 307 cases of cataracts. Therefore, statins harmed 443 people while ‘helping’ 271.
Severe Muscle Weakness, Cognitive Problems
In a 2004 interview, Beatrice Golomb – M.D., Ph.D., from the University of California – said, “[F]rom the reports that come into us, people are experiencing severe muscle weakness, which is also linked to cognitive problems.” Those cognitive problems include everything from the inability to recall names or balance a checkbook to forgetting whole episodes. Dr. Golomb said, “The concern is that statins haven’t been adequately studied for their harmful effects, (and) studies showing dangerous side effects of statin use aren’t being taken seriously enough.”
Lipitor Raises Diabetes Risk
On the heels of this study, the world’s best-selling statin, Lipitor, has been shown in other studies to raise diabetes risk in women by as much as 50 percent.
Free Legal Consultation
Matthews & Associates is currently accepting cases involving women who took Lipitor and developed diabetes. If you or someone you love has been injured by a statin, contact a Lipitor lawyer for a free legal consultation regarding a potential Lipitor (statin) lawsuit.
