Humorous comments and a revealing study

June 2011

How to explain away bad results

Using a new technique named strain imaging US researchers have found that statin treatment decreases myocardial function. This is not new knowledge, of course; just consult the writings of our members Alena and Peter Langsjoen. Do we expect official warnings now?

Of course not. Here is a comment by Malcolm Kendrick (from our internal discussions):

You make the mistake of believing that peer reviewers actually read the papers they are sent….And, of course, criticising statins in public would be the end of any self-respecting cardiologists career. So we have now reached the point where it is clear that statins damage heart function – but this is a good thing. Statins sure as hell work in a mysterious way. Even when they are doing harm they are doing good. In fact the more harm they do, the better it is.It may be worth writing a book on statin theology:

‘Father, if statins are so powerful and good, how can they let bad things happen? I do not understand.

‘Ah, my son, the ways of the statin are beyond human understanding. We must not question their great power. All we can know is that Statins are great in their endless love for us all. To ask such things isis to question the greatness of Statination itself….etc.’

Another solution is to create an ad-hoc hypothesis. If you don´t know what that means, read Tom Naughton´s explanation!

The statins are bystanders only

A new problem for the cholesterol campaign has appeared: There is no association between the decrease of heart disease and the use of statins.This has been shown by Swedish researchers who compared the two measures in all Swedish districts.

No association! In some districts heart disease went down and statin use increased but in just as many it was the opposite.

You can read the paper here to be published in Journal of Negative Results, meaning that very few will take notice, unless of course you tell about it whenever you have the possibility.

Again, this is no surprise for those who have followed the literature with a critical eye. If you want a detailed explanation why cholesterol is not the enemy, read this review by one of our members Stephanie Seneff. Its title is How Statins Really Work Explains Why They Don’t Really Work.

Alzheimer and low chlesterol

Researchers paid by the drug industry are eager to tell us that people with Alzheimer´s disease should be prescribed a statin drug. How do they explain that all the blood lipids are lower in such patients, lower the more advanced the Alzheimer has progressed? You can read more about that here