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The risk of developing type 2 diabetes rises with increasing doses of statin therapy, according to the findings of a large meta-analysis in the June 22/29 issue of JAMA. "Our findings suggest that clinicians should be vigilant for the development of diabetes in patients receiving intensive statin therapy," said Dr. David Preiss of the BHF Glasgow (Scotland) Cardiovascular Research Centre at the University of Glasgow, and his associates. Several recent studies have suggested that statin therapy may raise the risk of diabetes, and some have indicated that the risk is higher at higher doses of the drugs. Dr. Preiss and...

Simvastatin is taken by around three million people in order to lower their cholesterol and reduce the risk of having a heart attack. However an analysis of clinical trial data in America has found that high doses can cause muscle damage and a rare condition which induces kidney problems and may be fatal. Patients were told not to stop taking simvastatin but advised to talk to their doctor if they have concerns. The American medicines regulator, the Food and Drug Administration, has issued a warning to patients to be alert to signs of problems when taking the 80mg daily dose...

New evidence shows that the drug makers Merck and Schering-Plough have conducted several studies of their popular cholesterol medicine Zetia that raise questions about its risks to the liver, but the companies have never published those results. Partial results of the studies, alluded to in documents on the Food and Drug Administration’s Web site, raise questions about whether Zetia can cause liver damage when used long term with other cholesterol drugs called statins. Most of the millions of people who use Zetia take it along with a statin like Lipitor, Crestor or Zocor. Or they take it in a single...

ONDON, May 14 — Britain will become the first country in the world to sell a cholesterol-reducing drug, called a statin, without a prescription. Starting in July, a low dosage of the drug Zocor will be sold over the counter to people at moderate risk of heart disease, a number that could reach 5 million to 10 million. That group includes all men older than 55, as well as men over 45 and women over 55 who smoke, are overweight, have a family history of heart disease or come from the Indian subcontinent, all groups that are at higher risk...