This blog tracks updates to the Blood Sugar 101 Web site.


Sunday, November 9, 2008

Statins Effective Mostly in People with Elevated CRP

Page changed: A1c and High Post-Meal Blood Sugar Predict Heart Attack

Added link to New York Times study reporting on major new research that shows that statins are effective in people with elevated CRP (C-reactive protein) a measure of inflammation.

Note that as reported in the New York Times HERE this study is being used to argue that EVERYONE should take statins, but in fact, it proves quite the opposite. Get your CRP tested and if it is not elevated, you probably don't need to take statins.

This study appears to confirm what many have begun to suspect--that whatever benefit there is from taking statins has nothing to do with their impact on cholesterol levels, but results from the fact that they have an anti-inflammatory effect on blood vessels.

This probably explains why half of those who have heart attacks have normal cholesterol.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I also understand that the statin dosage to lower CRPs is likely FAR less than needed to lower cholesterol to whatever the current mania would have us do (and did me in for several months)RobLL

Anonymous said...

Lower dosage should also avoid the problem of CoQ-10 depletion caused by statins.

It's good to see some common sense and critical thinking about cause and effect. The media coverage of this study reads like a drug commercial.

Nature cites the AHA as saying the trial didn't resolve whether reducing inflammation or lowering cholesterol produced the effects, since they didn't study people with normal CRP levels.