Statin drug coverup, exposed

Here’s what happens when you let the drug companies run their own research: You get what they pay for.

And they’re not paying for naysayers.

A new study finds signs of bias all over the research used by the feds to approve the cholesterol med Crestor for millions of healthy people with normal cholesterol levels. The study, called JUPITER, found that the drug might help lower the risk of heart problems in people with elevated levels of the inflammation marker C-reactive protein (CRP). (Read “Statins aimed at healthy people.”)

But a new analysis finds that JUPITER–which was paid for by Crestor’s maker, AstraZeneca–had so many problems and was so inconsistent that it shouldn’t have been used to change any of the guidelines for the use of the med.

For example, nine of the 14 researchers behind the JUPITER study had financial ties to the AstraZeneca, according to the new analysis in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

And that’s not even the biggest conflict.

The researchers also note that the study involved the use of a new test to measure levels of CRP–a test that millions of healthy Americans can now expect to receive at their own doctors’ offices now that Crestor has been approved for them.

Well, it just so happens that this test was created by the lead author of the JUPITER study, who is also a co-holder of the patent for it. That means he could soon enjoy a statin side effect that the rest of us can only envy: What to do with all the extra money that will be coming in.

If that’s not a conflict I don’t know what is. Even he admits it is–but seems to think it’s OK because everyone knows about it.

“My conflict has been publicly disclosed literally hundreds of times going as far back as 1997,” Dr. Paul Ridker said in an email to Bloomberg News. “There is nothing new here.”

Maybe it’s not new. But it’s certainly relevant. So are some of the other dirty details–like the decision to pull the plug on this study after just two years, when it was supposed to run for five years.

Why the hurry?

Take a guess–because no one else has a better answer than you do. The researchers behind the new analysis said that inconsistencies in the data “should have led to the continuation of the trial rather than its premature ending.”

But you know Big Pharma. They love a happy ending–and they cut the study off as soon as they got one.

If you take these meds, however, you could be anything but happy: Statin side effects including debilitating muscle pain, liver and kidney problems and cataracts.

All for a med that has never been proven to extend a single life.
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But for doctors who are told that statins save lives so they tell their patients that statins save lives, where are the stats that say statins save lives?

Murry

Bill Hebert, 49, will be sworn in as president of the 228,000-member organization in September.

Hebert also is a member of the bar associations for Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and appears frequently in local and federal courts in the region on business litigation matters, the news release said. He also serves as a mediator in business litigation and civil rights cases.

A graduate of Stanford University and Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, Hebert represents clients in business litigation, including unfair competition and class actions. He currently is a partner in Calvo & Clark’s San Francisco office.

“Everyone at Calvo & Clark is very proud of Bill and all he has accomplished as a lawyer and leader of the profession,” said Eduardo “Champ” Calvo, a partner in Calvo & Clark’s Guam office. “We all expect him to make a great contribution to the bar during his year in office.”
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Hafa Adai

Anna

Liberals control Congress and the White House. They’ve taken over health care. They’ve nationalized large blocks of the auto industry, the insurance industry, the banking industry. Once they finish with the oil and gas industry, what’s left?

You’ll be sorry you asked….

Because next on the agenda for the Control Freaks in Washington is.. you.

That’s right. The liberals controlling government are setting their sights on controlling that reckless and headstrong force of capitalism: you. The typical hard-working, tax-paying, church-going, law-abiding American citizen is about to be blinded by the headlights of a federal government gone crazy.

As veteran political writer and CNSNews editor Terry Jeffrey exposes in his alarming new book: We are living in the era of the “Control Freaks.” They dictate an amazing number of our choices already, but it’s not enough to satisfy their lust for power. These liberals will not be happy until they can control:
what car you drive (better yet, no car at all – ride your bike!),
where you take your vacation (stay at home and save fuel!),
what you listen to on the radio (or don’t listen to!),
what your kids learn at school (no, it’s not up to you, and you may not even have the right to know what your children are being taught!),
how many children you have!,
what you eat, drink, and brush your teeth with.
the list goes on and on and on.

It would almost be funny, if it weren’t so frightening.

But there is a way to stop them. To fight the control freaks, we must know exactly where they plan to strike next. First step: Get your copy today of Terry Jeffrey’s devastating new book Control Freaks: 7 Ways Liberals Plan to Ruin Your Life. And join the fight against the liberal Control Freaks.

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It seems Rachel has nailed the Right’s strategy. Scare us white folk.

Mike

I like how you have a way of constantly seeing the glass as half full. But in this case, the evil scoundrels are still around doing their dirt while the good ones have long since become fertile soil for mother earth.

Wayne

I will say the first best of three chess games belong to me. I am presently scheduled to play Ruth tomorrow, it remains to be seen whether I will announce my victory in the best of three there. In defense of Evelyn, I will say she said that her competitive juices had not been aroused as my “sweet lips were occupying her mind.”

She said that she was turning our chess match over to her mother temporarily to allow her to get her bearings and to allow her mother to quench a mother’s curiosity. I admit that I am more than just a little taken by Evelyn’s style and presence so whatever pleases her pleases me.

She made me promise to down her mother at chess with a vengeance, if I ever expect to gain an ounce of respect from her. I said as you have observed from our games I ask no quarter and give none from the board.

She laughed and said, “are you in for a humbling when next we play.” “But for now I will allow my mother the fun of wiping that self-pleasing smile off your face.” And if as a claimed gentleman, I may say, she planted a wonderfully pleasing buss upon my wanting lips.

That brings to mind another matter I which to address. Anonymous, that was a beautiful poem. My feelings exactly when I first set eyes upon Evelyn as she sat without knowing I had watched her for a few minutes before I approached her in the lobby.

Yes, Regal, even without the crown jewels. Yes, she was that upon first sight and she has proven to be even more than I dared to expect.

I humbly end this tirade with thanks for all the well wishes we have both received.

Harris