| August
7, 2007
Statins Safe and Effective for Children With
Familial Hypercholesterolemia
By Will Boggs, MD
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Aug 07 - Statin therapy is safe and
effective for children with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia
(HeFH), according to findings published in the August issue of
Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.
"When a child has been diagnosed with heterozygous familial
hypercholesterolemia, statin treatment should be considered for
all children older than 8 years," Dr. Barbara A. Hutten from
Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, told Reuters
Health.
Dr. Hutten and colleagues performed a meta-analysis on safety
outcomes of randomized placebo-controlled trials which evaluated
statin treatment in children and adolescents with HeFH.
Compared with placebo, statin therapy reduced total cholesterol
a mean 25% and LDL cholesterol a mean 30%, the authors report.
Smaller decreases in ApoB were associated with statin therapy,
as were significant increases in HDL cholesterol and ApoA1.
Statin therapy was not associated with an increased risk of an
adverse event, the report indicates, and there were no differences
in the number of children with marked elevations in lab values
between statin and placebo groups.
Height increased slightly more in the statin group than in the
placebo group, the investigators say, but there were no significant
differences between the groups in sexual development.
"Based on our meta-analysis, we cannot draw any conclusions
with respect to a preferred statin for children," Dr. Hutten
said. "The number of studies in children is relatively low
and not all types and doses of statins have been studied in children
as of yet."
"Even though the meta-analysis shows that statin treatment
seems safe in children and adolescents, long-term - or actually
life-long - safety still needs to be investigated," Dr. Hutten
explained. "It is unknown whether the risk reduction at later
age differs between various types of statins used during childhood."
"For their actual decision of starting treatment, physicians
should balance benefit and risk, based on the personal situation
and the risk profile of each individual child, which depends on
family history, lipid profile, lifestyle, etc.," Dr. Hutten
said. "Also, patients' and/or parents' preferences may play
a role in the decision when to start treatment."
"Furthermore," Dr. Hutten cautioned, "the minimal
age of children in the studies included in the meta-analyses was
8 years, and we cannot make any recommendations for children below
this age."
Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2007;27:1803-1810.
Source: www.medscape.com
Comment:
The pharmaceutical industry is well aware of the serious side
effects of statins (such as rhabdomyolysis, liver damage,
cancer ,etc),
but despite knowing this, statins are now being recommended
for children as young as eight years old for prevention purposes.
Why? Because these "Block-Buster" medications are
generating billions of dollars in revenue for the pharmaceutical
companies. This is another example of the "business with
disease" the pharmaceutical companies are engaged in.
They are evidently not sparing future generations, making
them dependent on medications from early childhood. There
is no importance given to nutrition, diet, or exercise - which
are more critical in prevention than just pushing harmful
medications in young children.
Dr. Rath has shown, with extensive research and clinical studies,
that cholesterol is not the major cause - but the consequence
of cardiovascular disease. Our clinical study has confirmed
that by strengthening the vascular wall structure and its
function through the synergistic action of specific cellular
nutrients (especially vitamin C, lysine, proline and other
nutrients), cholesterol, triglycerides, and LP(a) levels in
the blood can be normalized, and the atherosclerotic plaques
can be reversed. It is possible - without statins or other
harmful pharmaceutical drugs. Please read more about this
outstanding discovery at www.drrathresearch.org |
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