Articles are plastered all over the net which address the controversy over giving statins, a cholesterol lowering drug, to children.
I know its a bit of a stretch, but when we think of the outrageous obesity rate amongst kids often accompanied by elevated cholesterol…. some kind of action must be taken. Clearly society could take a more preventive approach, but that doesn’t seem to be happening successfully. So is the AAP trying to find a solution to a problem which appears to be only getting worse with time… Does it mean that its possibly the best way to prevent the onset of heart disease in the very young (even though the meds are not tested in children)?
Would the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Surgeon General, or any large governing body concider starting a campaign to eat healthier, reduce weight and junk food consumption and increase physical activity amongst children in the US? But do people really wish to change their lifestyle and live life a new way?
Statins destroy mitochondria, as do each of the psychotropics.
I’m not sure what the role of a doctor should be here – but, “do no harm” is certainly not being practiced with the use of statins – and for kids?
If I were a doc, I would tell parents the truth about the dangers of these drugs. Mitochrondria is precious material in the body, and is a huge player in mental health.
From PubMed -
http://discoverandrecover.wordpress.com/2008/07/18/mitochondrial-damage-and-mental-illness/
Duane
By: duanesherry on July 20, 2008
at 4:55 am
Dr. Lazarevik,
One of the safest ways to reduce choleserol levels is with Niacin – it’s safe, and it’s chep, and it works.
Dr. Abram Hoffer discusses how to determine the appropriate amt of Niacin in this article – the “flush” and saturation level.
It would be great if more physicians knew something about this. The body actually talks to us – including with the flush that comes from niacin…
Wish more doctors knew how to teach their patients to “listen” to their own bodies = they’re great teachers.
B-3 (Niacin) is one of the most water-soluable nutrients in the human body – very safe, and known to lower cholesterol.
Surely, this would be safer than giving kids statins. Especially, if patients were taught on how to listen to the “flush” of their own body -
http://www.doctoryourself.com/niacin.html
Duane
By: duanesherry on July 20, 2008
at 6:09 pm
Hey thanks for your comment~
I think the drive home point for me is prevention and screening for children. There is not enough evidence that medicine or natural methods are safe. The problem talking about the ‘dangers of medication’ is that its not time tested on children. Whats the alternative when lifestyle changes are not completely embraced or effective, a heart attack at 25-30 years old instead of 45-50?
The methodology of using lipid lowering meds considers different factors like family history, existing medical conditions and whether diet, exercise, weight loss had any impact for a certain period of time. Lifestyle changes are difficult for most people to make, the last resort for the patient is often medication.
Its probably best to provide evidence based conclusions rather than anecdotal ones to convince MD’s about the effectiveness of any CAM therapies.
By: sonya lazarevic md on July 20, 2008
at 9:39 pm
Dr. Lazarevik,
Any academic exercise needs to have room for common sense.
In other words, when this one is discussed….
Assume a kid comes from a family that won’t make lifestyle changes….
His/her cholesterol is at dangerous levels….
Does a doc prescribe statins, or something else?
I say go in with niacin before a statin….
Anectodal?
Not if you look at the Orthomolecular literature – there’s a bunch there to look at…..
This was dismissed years ago by the AMA, and not published in PubMed, etc….
But, it doesn’t mean it’s not there – it means it’s been ignored…..
We’ve had this conversation before. There is no money in B-3 (niacin) – It can’t be patented.
There has never been a death by niacin – not one – not once – even in large amts. This cannot be said about statins – they can cause death.
We have 108,000 per year from rx meds. Either zero or one per year from vitamins (less than one per year on average).
Common sense.
Math.
And, the conversation moves to a level that parents such as myself can begin to feel a comfort level with it – regain a trust with MD’s.
What is being done in conventional medicine today – with a drug for everything makes no sense – it lacks common sense. It ignores math.
Duane
By: duanesherry on July 21, 2008
at 1:28 pm