NPR had a story critical of modern medicine this morning (March 21, 2008). They called it "treating the numbers" instead of preventing disease.  It agrees with something I have been saying for years so I liked it.
 
    The gist of the story is that doctors have fallen into treating numbers like cholesterol, sugar counts, blood pressure, rather than asking for definite proof that lowing the numbers prevents disease. 

     This is especially true for pushing for extreme low numbers.  Avandia was given as an example of a drug that was a prescription drug to lower sugar counts to prevent heart attacks in diabetics but may have increased them instead.  Statin drugs are really in question; they do lower cholesterol but do extreme low cholesterol numbers really prevent heart disease?

      This is an idea that goes directly against the drug companies and they will attack it.  The whole drug system is so corrupt how can any study be trusted anymore?  At least one person is calling for an FBI investigation into the cover up of the adverse side effects of the statin drugs and for prosecution of the drug companies under the RICO laws if found guilty.  On the Mayo Clinic web page, Dr. Gau, who is head of cholesterol studies for Mayo s says his experience as a doctor is that 15 to 20% of people have adverse side effects to statin drugs not the reported 2% in original clinic studies.  

         Right now the statin drug Crestoris being looked at for serious adverse side effects.  If it falls, all the statin drugs could fall.
 
    After all, it was just a few years ago when the statin drug Baycol fell.  It lowered cholesterol numbers and caused heart attacks; something to think about.
            Mr P

March 21, 2008