Are you over 65 & taking statin meds? Know anyone who is? It may not be worth it.

If you’re a prescriber, consider this research. If you’re a patient, or know someone who is, consider this for your, or their well-being.

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Statins Have No Primary CVD Prevention Benefit To Older Patients

Takeaway
Statins offer no benefit for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adult patients aged ≥65 y.

Why this matters
“[S]tatins may be producing untoward effects in the function or health of older adults that could offset any possible cardiovascular benefit,” say the study authors.

Study design
Researchers conducted post hoc secondary data analyses of patient data from a randomized, open-label clinical trial (N=2867; age, ≥65 y; 49.4% women; all without evidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease); patients were assigned to either a treatment group receiving pravastatin sodium 40 mg/d or a usual care (UC) group.
Funding: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; AstraZeneca; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Pfizer; National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; The Stroke Foundation.

Key results
Hazard ratios for all-cause mortality in the treatment group vs the UC group were

Late Term #Abortion #Politics On #DebateNight

A few thoughts on a Presidential Debate topic by Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News, with candidates Hillary Clinton (D) and Donald Trump (R) from the third, and final debate held last night at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Wednesday, 19 October 2016:

1.) Tweet from Dr. Jen Gunter, MD: “There is no such thing as a ninth month abortion – I’m a doctor who trained in late term abortions”
https://twitter.com/DrJenGunter/status/788912646330257408

2.) A portion of her blog entry (linked herein) on the topic from the Debate states: “Trump’s statement, as incorrect as it may be, supports the fallacy of the due-date abortion. It is a common anti-choice narrative that

Research: #Exercise Significantly Improves Anti-#Depression Therapy

For those whom are searching for adjunct, supplemental, or alternative therepeutic milieus, scientists and researchers have made some wonderful discoveries, and share the findings before the release of their research paper!

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Randomized controlled trial of physical exercise as augmentation to antidepressant therapy for late-life major depression in primary care

August 4, 2015

Summary
Progressive physical exercise plus sertraline anti-depressant therapy achieves higher rates of depression remission than non-progressive therapy plus sertraline, or sertraline alone in primary care patients with late-life major depression.

Study Design
121 primary care patients were randomized to

How Honest is Your Doctor?

If you had an option, would you rather pay $10/month, or $80/month for a prescription medication that accomplished/did the exact same thing?

Research shows that the results of the 2 differently priced medicines have never been shown to be any better in any way.

Which would you choose?

Why?

What if your doctor prescribed the more expensive medication for you based on the fact that

Pradaxa & Xarelto: Are they worth the risks & costs?

What dangers lurk ahead for new “blood thinner” medications?

Could we unwittingly be participating in our own destruction?

Not only that, but these new medications are exorbitantly expensive, as well.

Are they worth it in the long run?

Should we continue to use the ready stand-by?

The new meds have no antidote. The old one does.

Too little too late, or too much too soon?

Are we playing with fire?

Only time will tell.

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Insight: Top heart doctors fret over new blood thinners

6:50am EDT, 14 June 2012

By Ransdell Pierson

NEW YORK (Reuters) – For millions of heart patients, a pair of new blood thinners have been heralded as the first replacements in 60 years for warfarin, a pill whose hardships and risks have deterred many from using the stroke-prevention medicine.

But growing complaints of risks and deaths tied to the new crop of drugs have made some top U.S. cardiologists hesitant to prescribe them. Some are proposing a more rigorous monitoring regimen for when they are used.

Most concerns revolve around Pradaxa, a twice daily pill from Boehringer Ingelheim that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October 2010 to prevent strokes in patients with an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation. It was the first new oral treatment for that use since warfarin was introduced in the 1950s.

“The good news is

New Hope in Cancer Treatment May Soon Be Widely Available

In a nutshell, cancer is simply a case of good and normal cells which have “gone bad,” which are typically characterized by rapid reproduction of those mutated cells, accompanied by the development of its own network of blood vessels to feed its growth (angiogenesis).

The initial findings in this research are indeed promising.

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Drug Helps Defense System Fight Cancer

June 1, 2012 By ANDREW POLLACK

CHICAGO — One of the great frustrations for researchers in the war on cancer is that the body’s own defense system does not do a better job fighting the disease. Tumors, it turns out, have a molecular shield that repels attacks from the immune system.

Now, a new study says, an experimental drug is showing promise in disabling that shield, unleashing the immune system and causing shrinkage of some lung, skin and kidney cancers that had defied treatment with existing drugs.

“We are seeing responses in heavily treated patients — three different cancers, one drug,” Dr. Suzanne L. Topalian, a melanoma specialist at Johns Hopkins University and lead investigator in the study, said in an interview. “This is a group of patients whose life expectancy was measured in a few months.”

The results are from

Sex, Drugs, and Rock-n-Roll

Periodically, friends and family come to me seeking understanding about various medical and health related issues, which often includes information about procedures and medications.

And on occasion, I continue to be asked to identify certain medications.

Particularly problematic are the numerous herbs and Over The Counter (OTC) non-prescription remedies that neither treat nor cure, yet proliferate and line the pockets of those unscrupulous enough to market and sell them to the unsuspectingly ignorant.

On one such occasion, I was asked by a friend to identify several foreign concoctions of apparent Asian origin, which I succeed in identifying, though I suspect I merely added levity to our communication. Fortunately, the request wasn’t anything of any seriously substantial nature.

It’s becoming more difficult to identify many items, though I count myself fortunate to have access to the numerous resources I do.

Here’s the text of my response. Perhaps you’ll find it enlightening.

“Paging ‘American Healthcare Reform,’ paging ‘American Healthcare Reform’… you’re needed in the OTC Pharmacy – STAT!”

[ed. note: I wrote this post accompanying some photos I’d made and posted to my Flickr site back around October 2009.]

He wanted some OTC ranitidine. I told him, “Get omeprazole!” But he didn’t, saying he wanted more rapid relief.

So… guess what!?!

It just so happened, that at the checkout stand in front of us was a Big Pharma sales rep. She said, “Use this!,” and pulled out

Come… and Go

And are you aware, that pound-for-pound, Viagra is MORE expensive than a fully loaded Mercedes-Benz S550 4Matic?

A fully-dressed, 2005 Mercedes-Benz S550 4Matic (their top-of-the-line/flagship luxury sedan) weighs

When the treatment is worse than the disease

“Simponi can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious and sometimes fatal events can occur – such as infections, cancer in children and adults, heart failure, nervous system disorders, liver or blood problems and allergic reactions. Before starting Simponi, your doctor should test you for TB and assess your risk of infections, including fungal infections, and hepatitis B.”

– from a teevee commercial/advertisement for a once-a-month, self-injectable “drug/medicine” branded “Simponi” purported to treat rheumatoid arthritis

“SIMPONI^™ can lower your ability to fight infections. There are reports of serious infections caused by bacteria, fungi, or viruses that have spread throughout the body, including tuberculosis (TB) and histoplasmosis. Some of these infections have been fatal. Your doctor will test you for TB before starting SIMPONI^™ and will monitor you for signs of TB during treatment. Tell your doctor if you have been in close contact with people with TB. Tell your doctor if you have been in a region (such as the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys and the Southwest) where certain fungal infections like histoplasmosis or coccidioidomycosis are common. Unusual cancers have been reported in children and teenage patients taking TNF-blocker medicines. For children and adults taking TNF blockers, including SIMPONI^™, the chances for getting lymphoma or other cancers may increase. You should tell your doctor if you have had or develop lymphoma or other cancers.”

– from the http://www.simponi.com/ website

The word “medication” can be simply defined as “a compound or preparation used for the treatment or prevention of disease,” while the word “cure” can be simply defined as to “relieve (a person or animal) of the symptoms of a disease or condition.”

Should a “cure” cause disease?

What the hell was the FDA thinking when they approved this “medicine”?

What sense does it make to create a “medicine” for which the company knows causes cancer? Is that not a class action lawsuit waiting to happen? Would the American Cancer Association approve this medication?

Would YOU recommend this “medicine” to your family and friends?

Would YOU take this “medicine”?

Should this “medicine” be banned?