Health Alert 35
Did you know that drug companies sponsor the studies that show benefits from their drugs? A case in point is Pfizer and its drug for lowering cholesterol, Lipitor.
Pfizer funded a trial in which 20,000 patients took either Lipitor or a placebo regardless of their cholesterol levels. The Lipitor group experienced a lowering of their cardiac risk even if their cholesterols were normal. The trial was stopped before completion. Pfizer has stated that it was unfair to deny Lipitor to the placebo group. 1 The research implies that the use of Lipitor should be expanded to patients with normal cholesterols.
* Reader Beware *
Before you call your doctor to put you on this wonder drug too, there are a few other things about Lipitor you should know. To begin with, the 2002 Physician’s Desk Reference mentions these side effects:
• Liver dysfunction and failure
• Kidney failure
• Rhabdomyolysis (painful bursting of smooth muscle cells)
• Constipation
• Insomnia
• Tinnitus
• Hypertension
Yes, hypertension is a possible side effect of Lipitor. Yet the study concludes that doctors should consider prescribing Lipitor to patients with hypertension even if their cholesterols are already normal. There is no discussion of this obvious conflict.
The study discussion also lacks mention of recent studies showing other negative health effects of this group of cholesterol drugs. These effects are particularly undesirable if you have high blood pressure.
• A Finnish study has recently shown they decrease antioxidants by as much as 22%.
• Lipitor’s competitor, Zocor, was shown to increased insulin levels by 13%. This leads to an increased risk of heart disease, hypertension, obesity, insulin resistance and Type II diabetes. 2
Lipitor is in a class of cholesterol medications called statins. They work by inhibiting a liver enzyme that makes cholesterol. The problem is that this enzyme has some other important functions. For instance, it is used in the production of coenzyme Q10. CoQ10 provides energy for the heart, brain and kidneys. Taking statin drugs has been shown to lower CoQ10 levels. Yet, there is no mention of CoQ10 in this study.
* Blood pressure patients should increase, not block, CoQ10 *
You may remember that CoQ10 is a natural alternative to lower cardiac risk from Health Alert 3. It serves as both an energizing nutrient and antioxidant protector for the heart. You may also remember that I consider CoQ10 effective at lower blood pressure from Health Alert 29. There are now more independent studies coming to the same conclusion.
One double-blinded placebo controlled study was published in the Journal of Human Hypertension. Half of the hypertensive participants took CoQ10 for 8 weeks. The other half took placebo. The CoQ10 group showed a significant reduction in blood pressure. 3
Molecular Aspects of Medicine published a report in which hypertensive participants were given CoQ10. All of the patients had been using medication to control their hypertension. Over half of the participants were able to stop all of their medications after being treated with CoQ10. 4
My research shows that blood CoQ10 levels do increase with oral supplementation. Oil soluble gel caps are best absorbed. I have observed that other vitamin levels in the body often increase while taking CoQ10. I recommend 100 mg taken with dinner for my patients with hypertension.
* Money Talks *
Why would Pfizer be so intent on pushing this dangerous drug onto consumers? Pfizer’s profit from sales of Lipitor was 2.35 billion dollars last year.5 That’s billion with a B.
It’s no wonder that its study would say we should prescribe more. What’s harder for me to swallow is the medical profession’s complacency in allowing these drug company funded studies to dominate the medical journals.
Lipitor is now the top selling drug on the market. Pfizer’s Celebrex lost its footing as number one when it was discovered that it was not as safe as claimed. Hopefully, it will only be a matter of time before the public becomes more aware of Lipitor’s dangers.
Al Sears MD
1 Reuters News Oct. 10, 2002
2 Thompson, Jenny. Bias in Reporting on Statins. Health Sciences Institute e-Alert. Oct. 31, 2002
3 Singh RB. Et al., Effect of hydrosoluble coenzyme q10 on blood pressure in hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease. Journal of Human Hypertension 1999; 13: 203-208
4 Langsjoen P. et al., Treatment of essential hypertension with coenzyme Q10. Molecular Aspects of Medicine 1994; 15 Suppl: S265-72
5 Reuters News Oct 16, 2002