Those of you who are past readers of Health Zingers know that I have been on a cholesterol drug rant. Basically, I have pointed out the FACT that there are no peer-reviewed studies supporting the prescription of cholesterol drugs for the primary prevention of heart disease (primary prevention means for those who have never had a heart attack). And, the evidence for using cholesterol-lowering drugs even in those who have experienced a heart attack is not strong. For those of you who have missed the past issues I suggest you read the articles under the Cholesterol category in the Health Articles section of this site.

O.K., so I have officially pulled out the remaining hair on my head. Unfortunately, it really didn’t take all that long. I have heard numerous ridiculous suggestions come out of medicine in the past. A good example is the recommendation to inject all infants with a Hepatitis B vaccination when this disease can only be contracted from needles, aberrant sexual acts, or from a mother who has Hepatitis B. If the infant’s mother is Hep B-free, then there is only risk and no benefit for the infant in receiving a Hepatitis B vaccine. The only benefit goes to the hospital and the pharmaceutical industry. Talk about ridiculous!

Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics has endorsed the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs in children as young as 8 years old. Of course this recommendation was based on scientifically supported data clearly demonstrating that the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs (statin drugs) reduces the risk of heart disease; right? Of course this recommendation to have kids take these drugs for decades or for a life time has been shown to be without serious risk; right? I mean that there is no way that the American Academy of Pediatrics would take any risk with our most precious resource; right? The only way they would make a recommendation like this would be if they had thoroughly examined the literature and had determined that the benefits absolutely out-weighed any potential risks: right?

WRONG!! The answer to ALL of these questions is “Of course, NO!” I know…I know…there is no way that the American Academy of Pediatrics would ever endorse anything that could potentially harm our children. This is just too hard to swallow for any clear thinking individual…I know. (In case you are missing it, this is called written sarcasm!)

As I urge you to do in all situations, I want you to challenge what you read or hear. This case is no different. I am telling you that there are NO primary prevention studies showing any significant benefit towards the reduction of heart disease from the use of statin (cholesterol lowering) drugs. If I am wrong, it will be so easy for your doctor to give you such a study. Since they have so much confidence in statins to recommend that kids be given this class of drug, they have to have formed that opinion after reading numerous studies showing that these drugs work for primary prevention. After all, I hear doctors talk negatively about natural products all of the time by saying that one positive study does not show anything. Or, more commonly, I do not suggest the use of natural products because there are no good peer-reviewed studies supporting their use. So, you have to assume that to make such front-page headline recommendations like urging doctors to prescribe these drugs for kids, there have to be numerous studies showing primary prevention benefits. I am telling you that they cannot even come up with ONE! Talk about gross hypocrisy!

Statin drugs are not safe. There are over 140 different side-effects that can be caused by these drugs! Some are life-threatening! Can you imagine if the scenarios the drug companies portray on T.V. were real? You know…the one where the doctor is sitting at his desk calmly running down the list of side-effects with the patient. Can you imaging if your pediatrician told you that he recommended that your young son or daughter would benefit from taking Lipitor, Crestor, Zocor, or Vytorin and then ran through a list of 142 potential side-effects that they could experience? That sounds like a Saturday Night Live skit, does it not? By the way, when was the last time that your doctor gave you a prescription (or 2…or 3) and then went over all of the side-effects with you so that you would be able to identify them? No, instead they give you a multi-page handout at the pharmacy in a font so small that ants would need a magnifying glass to read.

So, let us imagine for a moment that I am correct about there being no scientific studied support for the recommendation made by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Why in the world would they make such a recommendation without any significant support? How in the world could they make this recommendation? Here is an excerpt from FoxNews.com regarding this story:

Dr. Stephen Daniels, of the academy's nutrition committee, says the new advice is based on mounting evidence showing that damage leading to heart disease, the nation's leading killer, begins early in life.

It also stems from recent research showing that cholesterol-fighting drugs are generally safe for children, Daniels said. Several of these drugs are approved for use in children and data show that increasing numbers are using them.

"If we are more aggressive about this in childhood, I think we can have an impact on what happens later in life ... and avoid some of these heart attacks and strokes in adulthood," Daniels said. He has worked as a consultant to Abbott Laboratories and Merck & Co., but not on matters involving their cholesterol drugs.

There is so much here that supports my point of view it is hard for me to know where I should start. Here it goes...

I love the way that Dr. Daniels said that this recommendation stems from recent research showing that these drugs are “GENERALLY” safe for children. Folks, I am telling you that this would be like throwing your child into a pool of 142 sharks; with a few of them being man-eaters. Then, after 15 seconds without a bite, you could state that swimming in that pool is generally safe for kids. Statin drugs can cause at least 142 side-effects and they have not been tested for long-term/life-time use in children. I’ll keep my kids on dry land, thank you. My neighbor’s kid, however… (just kidding).

I draw your attention to the first paragraph where Dr. Daniels stated that the recommendations stem from mounting evidence that heart disease starts early on in life. He then goes on to say that he thinks that we can have an impact on what happens later in life and avoid some of these heart attacks and strokes in adulthood by giving statin drugs to kids. What is this based upon? Remember, there are NO studies supporting the assertion that cholesterol-lowering drugs reduce heart attacks in any significant manner! So, what is the basis for his claim that using statins in children will lower the amount of heart attacks in adulthood? Notice that he did not say the mounting evidence is suggesting that statin drugs lower the risk of heart attacks. In fact, next time you see a cholesterol advertisement on T.V. look for the small print. You will see a small asterisk followed by the statement that their drug has not been shown to reduce the risk of stroke or heart disease!

Don’t believe me? Go to the official web page for Crestor by clicking on the link below. Go down to the bottom of the page and read the last sentence under Important Safety Information about CRESTOR. If you are too busy (or just trust me that much) here is what it says:

“CRESTOR has not been determined to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes.”

http://www.crestor.com/c/home.aspx?source=336&WT.mc_id=336&WT.srch=1

Idiot say, “What?” So, how did Dr. Daniels become so sure that giving kids statin drugs would reduce their risk for heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes when even the drug company admits that this claim has not been proven? Why would he COMPLETELY disregard any potentially negative side-effects that would be experienced by taking this class of drug? The answer, I think, can be found in the very last sentence of the FoxNews.com report. Dr. Daniels gets paid by the pharmaceutical industry. Talk about not biting the hand that feeds you! If you are not outraged, I would argue that you do not have a pulse!

So, what does Dr. Zimmer think about the new American Academy of Pediatric recommendation for the use of statin drugs in kids? I think that medicine has lost its mind!