Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : Biotech Valuation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stephen O who wrote (15100)	1/4/2005 6:37:58 PM
From: Biomaven	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 52153

You might notice the date of that interview - 2002. Since then there have been at least five major statin trials that together with existing studies refute his claims. See the abstract cited below which confirms that statins save lives even for people with no known CHD, and for women as well as men. (I've read the article as well as the abstract). The trouble with web sites like the one you point to is that they have a definite viewpoint and are unlikely to be updated with any contrary studies - but you can be sure that any studies that support their viewpoint will quickly find their way to the site. The fact is on any complex medical issue you will find a few experts that for whatever reason take a particular side and stick with it fervently. That means I never take "Dr X from famous institution Y" at face value. Kary Mullis, the kooky Nobel Prize winner that (to cite one example) claimed HIV didn't cause AIDS, should be enough of an example of this. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2004 May;57(5):640-51. Meta-analysis of large randomized controlled trials to evaluate the impact of statins on cardiovascular outcomes. Cheung BM, Lauder IJ, Lau CP, Kumana CR. Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong. mycheung@hkucc.khu.hk AIMS: Since 2002, there have been five major outcome trials of statins reporting findings from more than 47,000 subjects. As individual trial results differed, we performed a meta-analysis to ascertain the effectiveness and safety of statins overall and in subgroups. The aim of the study was to estimate the effect of statins on major coronary events and strokes, all-cause mortality and noncardiovascular mortality, and in different subgroups. METHODS: PubMed was searched for trials published in English. Randomized placebo-controlled statin trials with an average follow up of at least 3 years and at least 100 major coronary events were included. For each trial, the statin used, number and type of subjects, proportion of women, mean age and follow up, baseline and change in lipid profile, cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular outcomes were recorded. RESULTS: Ten trials involving 79,494 subjects were included in the meta-analysis. Due to heterogeneity, ALLHAT-LLT was excluded from some analyses. Statin therapy reduced major coronary events by 27% (95%CI 23, 30%), stroke by 18% (95%CI 10, 25%) and all-cause mortality by 15% (95%CI 8, 21%). There was a 4% (95%CI -10, 3%) nonsignificant reduction in noncardiovascular mortality. The reduction in major coronary events is independent of gender and presence of hypertension or diabetes. The risk reduction was greater in smokers (P < 0.05). Coronary events were reduced by 23% (95%CI 18, 29%) in pravastatin trials and 29% (95%CI 25, 33%) in five trials using other statins. Pravastatin reduced strokes by 12% (95%CI 1, 21%) whilst other statins reduced strokes by 24% (95%CI 16, 32%) (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Statins reduce coronary events, strokes and all-cause mortality without increasing noncoronary mortality. The benefits accrue in men and women, hypertensives and normotensives, diabetics and nondiabetics, and particularly in smokers. Pravastatin appears to have less impact on strokes.