An article (jamacardiology_navar_2019_vp_190009) in the June, 2019 edition of JAMA Cardiology was titled, “Fear-Based Medical Misinformation and Disease Prevention: From Vaccines to Statins. In this article, the author states “fake medical news” as the reason that patients are exhibiting hesitancy about utilizing statins and vaccines. The author correctly...
I have always enjoyed having medical students in my office as I like teaching. This week, I had a pleasant 4th year medical student, Andrea. The first day Andrea showed up to my office, I handed her a New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) article about statin drugs. This...
ALS ranks up there as one of the worst illnesses. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, ALS is a rapidly progressing neurological disease where nerve cells in the muscles are attacked. This leads to progressive weakness and disability. Eventually, a patient with ALS will be unable to move...
On March 10, 2018 at the annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) meeting, an “on the scene” video was released reporting the results of the new PCSK9 cholesterol-lowering medication Praluent. (1) This new class of LDL-cholesterol lowering medications works differently than statins. PCSK9 inhibiters block an enzyme naturally...
The headline in the New York Times (NYT) this morning–8.28.2017– states, “Anti-Inflammatory Drug May Lower Risk of Heart Disease and Cancer. Findings Represent Medical Milestone.” I am getting tired of using the “Fake News” meme when describing medical articles in the NYTs. But, this article is beyond ridiculous and...
In an on-line article in The New York Times today (3.17.17), the headline states, “Cholesterol-Slashing Drug Can Protect High-Risk Heart Patients, Study Finds.” The article describes the first test of the new cholesterol-lowering medication—Repatha. Repatha is part of the PCSK9 inhibiter family that works by lowering LDL-cholesterol levels through...
Statins are the most profitable drugs in the history of the Big Pharma Cartel. In the U.S., the most stunning statistic about statin drugs is that nearly one-third of adult Americans currently take a statin medication. And, if the Powers-That-Be have their way, all Americans over the age of...
Do we need more cholesterol-lowering medications? Big Pharma thinks so. A new class of cholesterol-lowering medications called PCSK9 inhibitors is being unleashed on us. PCSK9 inhibitors are monoclonal antibodies. PCSK9 can bind to LDL-cholesterol receptors on the cell walls. Once the PCSK9 binds to the LDL-cholesterol receptor, the complex is...
Is a blood pressure less than 120/80mm Hg healthier than a higher blood pressure? Scientists randomly assigned 9,361 subjects with systolic blood pressure of 130 mm Hg or higher and increased cardiovascular risk, but without diabetes, to two groups. The intensive treatment group had a systolic blood-pressure target of...
Folks, Last Sunday (August 30, 2015) an article about the new cholesterol-lowering drugs appeared in the New York Times (NYT). The article can be read here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/30/health/new-alternatives-to-statins-add-to-a-quandary-on-cholesterol.html?_r=1 The article focused on the side effects of statin drugs and it questioned if doctors will prescribe the new drugs even though they are...
