Cholesterol Drugs Offer More Than Just Heart Health
The more doctors and patients use the cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, the more unexpected but welcome side effects are showing up. Health correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin reports.
Ten years ago, Frank Craighill's arteries were so badly clogged that he had to have emergency heart bypass surgery. But now, at age 62--with exercise, a heart-healthy diet, and the drug lovastatin to control high cholesterol--he feels better than ever.
"It's been dramatic in my case. My cholesterol has been almost cut in half. I feel wonderful," Craighill says.
Lovastatin is one of a family of drugs, sold under names like Lipitor, Zocor, and Mevacor, that doctors call "the statins." Developed in the late '70s, they have cut the heart attack rate by a third and reduced the need for invasive heart surgery. That's a spectacular success. But for statins, it may only be the beginning.
"Not only have statins exceeded my expectations, I think they have essentially blown away all expectations of the doctors, the public, the pharmaceutical companies," says Dr. Antonio Gotto of Weill-Cornell Medical College in New York.
The reason? While millions of heart patients have been taking these drugs, their physicians have watched as other, seemingly unrelated health problems have improved. Their risk of stroke is down by 30%, as is the rate of new cases of diabetes. Researchers are now investigating evidence that statins help prevent Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. And this month, they reported big benefits for older patients at risk for bone and hip fractures.
"What we found in that study was that the statin users had a 67% lower risk of hip fractures compared to individuals who were not taking these medications," says researcher Dr. Douglas Bauer of the University of California, San Francisco.
Twelve million Americans already take these drugs. Last month, the National Institutes of Health said three times that number could safely use them to lower cholesterol.
In addition, the patent on lovastatin is due to expire this year. That means less expensive "generic" statins are just around the corner.
Somebody inevitably says next we will be putting it in the drinking water, I don't think we are there yet," says Gotto, "but if it should turn out that statins reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, we might see the majority of the elderly population of this country being treated with a statin."
No one is calling statins "miracle drugs." But like aspirin and penicillin before them, they are turning out to be an unexpected gift for both patients and doctors.
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