Surgeon maintains statin findings are 100% solid !
"A leading vascular surgeon has described the use of statins for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease as the “utmost medical tragedy of our times”.
Mr Sherif Sultan told IMT: “It is extraordinary that the healthcare industry has inadvertently induced life-threatening nutrient deficiency in millions of otherwise healthy people. What is even more critical is that not only has there been a failure to report on these negative side-effects of statins, there has actually been active discouragement to publish any negative studies on statins.”
Meanwhile, a statement by the HSE Group Clinical Director, West/North West Hospitals Group in relation to Mr Sultan’s recently published research review [Journal of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases (2013, 3, 179-185)], which concluded that cholesterol-lowering medicines may do more harm than good for many otherwise healthy people, first publicised by Irish Medical Times (IMT 06.09.13).
Dr Pat Nash said the views on the use of statins recently published by Mr Sultan and Dr Niamh Hynes are not representative of the views of University Hospital Galway (UHG) or the West/North West Hospitals Group.
“As Group Clinical Director of the West/North West Hospitals Group, and a working cardiologist in UHG, I wish to reassure patients that statins are safe. These are very important, well-validated drugs for the treatment of elevated cholesterol. We have extensive evidence to show their benefit and to show that they improve outcomes for patients with heart disease and stroke and that they have a role in preventing heart disease and stroke,” he stated.
“As always, if patients have any concerns, they should not discontinue their medication without discussing it with their GP or consultant.”
Mr Sultan said his research was intended to highlight the side-effects of statins so that patients in consultation with their primary physicians can make informed choices about taking statins, and increase awareness that in healthy patients with no cardiovascular history, statins have no proven benefit.
Mr Sultan said society has become overly-reliant on prescription drugs. For primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, people would be better served by “actively” controlling their diet and exercising, he said.
While the issue is more complex, he said even in those with known disease, exercise has proven to be as beneficial as drug therapy.
To claim a drug has “no side-effects” was disingenuous, he said."
Taken from here.
Zoe Harcombe did some homework and commented on Dr. Malcolm Kendrick's blog here. As so often the case, when you follow the money, the usual suspects appear.
Eddie
You know that it will be the case – supposedly independent supposedly academic institutions leap to defend to protect their funding lifeline and this case is no exception.
You have to search the University’s web site carefully to find this press release about loads-a-money: http://www.nuigalway.ie/about-us/news-and-events/news-archive/2013/august2013/nui-galway-projects-secure-13m-in-health-research-board-funding.html
There are more details here:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/about-us/news-and-events/news-archive/2008/november2008/new-communication-aid-to-improve-access-to-healthcare-for-migrant-workers-refug-1.html The bottom line is that NUIG gets 1.3 MILLION Euros from HRB – a so-called Health Research Board.
This tells us that the HRB gets funding from SRI to establish an SRC (had enough TLAs yet?! That’s Three Letter Abbreviations BTW):
http://www.hrb.ie/about/in-the-news/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=19&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=73&cHash=c3894a46d2
and “The SRC’s Industry Partners are GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Merck Sharpe & Dohme, Novartis, Roche, Amgen, Erigal, Caliper Life Science, AntiCancer Inc. ”
Got there in the end!
You can also search the NUIG web site for Pfizer references: 331
Eli Lilly references: 115
GSK: 82