Statins 'don't cut' pneumonia risk in elderly.Byline: ANI London, June 17 (ANI): Popular cholesterol lowering drugs such as Lipitor (atorvastatin atorvastatin /ator·va·stat·in/ (ah-tor?vah-stat´in) an antihyperlipidemic agent that acts by inhibiting cholesterol synthesis, used as the calcium salt in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and other forms of dyslipidemia. ) fail to lower the risk of pneumonia pneumonia (n  mōn`yə), acute infection of one or both lungs that can be caused by a bacterium, usually Streptococcus pneumoniae in older
adults, finds a new study.
"Prior research based on automated claims data had raised some hope-and maybe some hype-for statins Statins A class of drugs commonly used to lower LDL cholesterol levels. Mentioned in: C-Reactive Protein as a way to prevent and treat infections including pneumonia," said Dr Sascha Dublin, a physician at Group Health and assistant investigator at Group Health Center for Health Studies. "But when we used medical records to get more detailed information about patients, our findings didn't support that approach," Dublin added. The research, involving 65- to 94-year-old patients, showed that pneumonia risk was, if anything, almost 26 pct higher in people using statin stat·in n. Any of a class of drugs that inhibit a key enzyme involved in the synthesis of cholesterol and promote receptor binding of LDL cholesterol, resulting in decreased levels of serum cholesterol. than in those not using any; and this extra risk was 61 pct higher for pneumonia severe enough to require being hospitalized. "As a doctor, I'm a fan of statins for what they've been proven to do: lowering cholesterol and risk of heart disease and stroke in people who've had either disease or are at risk for them," said Dublin. "But now we and some others have found that statins may have gotten some unearned credit for health benefits that they don't actually have, including preventing pneumonia," the expert added. The study appears in British Medical Journal The British Medical Journal, or BMJ, is one of the most popular and widely-read peer-reviewed general medical journals in the world.[2] It is published by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (owned by the British Medical Association), whose other . (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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