Posted on 10/30/2009 3:50:15 PM PDT by neverdem
Patients taking statin drugs were almost 50 percent less likely to die from flu, researchers reported on Thursday in a study providing more evidence the cholesterol-lowering drugs help the body cope with infection.
The findings are compelling enough to justify doing controlled studies in which some patients are given the drugs deliberately and some are not, said Meredith Vandermeer of the Oregon Public Health Division, who helped lead the study.
"Our preliminary study shows these cholesterol-lowering medications called statins are associated with a decrease in mortality," Vandermeer told a news conference at a meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
"This early research suggests there may be a role for statins in influenza treatment and it should be studied further."
Vandermeer and a team of researchers, including at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looked at the records of 2,800 people who were hospitalized with seasonal influenza in 10 states during the 2007-2008 flu season.
A new strain called H1N1 swine flu is causing a pandemic now but seasonal influenza puts an estimated 200,000 Americans into the hospital every year and kills 36,000. Antiviral drugs can help save their lives but only if given quickly and doctors are searching for other ways to help patients.
Of the patients studied, 801 were taking statins anyway and continued taking them while hospitalized. Seventeen patients who were taking statins died while in the hospital or within a month afterward, compared to 64 who were not taking statins, Vandermeer said.
Overall, 2.1 percent of patients taking statins died, compared to 3.2 percent of patients not taking statins. That means patients taking statins were just under 50 percent less likely to die.
The researchers had to exclude patients who were on mechanical ventilators and unable to take their prescribed statins so the...
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
micro ping
Thanks for the link.
Gosh, what will be discovered next? Will statins also cure cancer, baldness, marital discord and bad breath? I don’t buy it.
Perhaps they do not help the body cope with infection. Perhaps they damage the flu virus’ ability to protect itself or to replicate.
University of Illinois Researchers discovered that Squalene synthase inhibitors, originally developed to control cholesteral, inhibit the ability of MRSA bacteria to protect themselves from our immune system by stipping a protective substance from the bacterias cell membrane.
Statin Drugs May Cut Cancer Risk
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20080108/statin-drugs-may-cut-cancer-risk
Statin drugs may reduce osteoporosis
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/5602.php
Zocor promotes hair regrowth by subtractive dosing.
http://www.best-hair-loss-product-reviews.com/Zocor_and_hair_loss.html
Jan 25, 2006 ... Statin drugs have become very popular and are being widely prescribed in ... Halitosis (if gum disease) • Heart attack • Alzheimer’s disease ...
http://www.google.com/search?q=statin+halitosis&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7TSHB_en
Can’t help you with the marital discord
Happy Halloween, hope you have a good sense of humor.
Also, Keep up with other H1N1 update stories on this thread: H1N1 flu victim collapsed on way to hospital [Latest H1N1 updates downthread] thanks to DvdMom and others.
Thanks for the ping!
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