US Task Force Recommends further INCREASED usage of statins despite no evidence

[DrCommonSense]

Once again, another "govt" agency is putting out policies with ZERO EBM that already costs approximately 17 billion/year in costs.

Here is an analysis by independent researchers on the RCTs concerning statins:

http://jcbmr.com/index.php/jcbmr/article/view/11/26

Clearly, statins have a NNT > 228 for primary prevention of MIs and are even not particularly beneficial in secondary prevention of MIs (NNT approximately 100).

Yet the newest "recommendations" by the US Task Force on Prevention of Disease run by a Standard Professor is pushing for a BROADER application of Statin usage despite ZERO evidence.

This is DESPITE statins being linked to DM2, Cognitive Decline, Neurological Disorders, Liver Enzyme elevations, Muscle Breakdown, etc. Statins are literally basically POISON for the vast majority of people being prescribed this medication with zero evidence for benefit.

The REAL reason why the Statin guidelines have been changed:

https://www.healthnewsreview.org/2016/11/why-statin-guidelines-might-be-biased/



No wonder the Republicans want to defund the AHRQ with frauds like Rodger Chou doing his "research". If this is the quality of "research" coming out of these clown organizations, there should be zero funding for them.

Essentially, these clowns can fudge the data/analysis to skew in any direction they want.

For instance, Dreyfuss showed in the Washington State Health Technology Assessment, that Chou left of many observational studies with far larger patient numbers that showed POSITIVE results for IPM.

He also didn't mention the Pain Scores/Functional Benefit in some of the studies that didn't show "any clinical benefit" such as the Cohen study whereby Gabapentin plus injections offered the best results with >65% benefit after a series of injections over the course of the year with Gabapentin.

So a logic conclusion from that study would be to first add Gabapentin for the patient if its the CHEAPEST method with decent efficacy. If unsuccessful, then add in ESI for further pain control.

Interesting how that was interpreted differently by Chou.

I truly believe the academics that run these agencies have their minds ALREADY made up before the "evidence" comes out and skew it in the direction they want.

Once again, the "EBM" fraud continues.

Compare how the "RCT review of statins" vs "Pain Injections" were carried out and the analysis if you don't believe me.

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[Ducttape]

i know you "despise" EBM.

clearly you do not remember the "days" when medical decision making was guided solely by "my clinical experience" alone.

the beauty of EBM that you fail to grasp is that for every Chou, there is a Manchikanti. do the research, publish, and prove that what you are advocating does work.

and more frequently than you think, this happens:
https://www.apnews.com/b2b34204a835468e87bae99130e21ced

Health
Another failure in search for treatment to slow Alzheimer's

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An experimental treatment for Alzheimer's failed again in a widely anticipated study, disappointing many who had hoped drugmaker Eli Lilly had finally found a way to slow the progression of the mind-robbing disease.

The drug did not work better than a placebo treatment in a study of more than 2,100 people with mild Alzheimer's, the company announced Wednesday.

"We're incredibly saddened by the news," said Maria Carrillo, chief science officer of the Alzheimer's Association, who was not involved in Lilly's research. "There was a lot of hope for this avenue, this approach."

Alzheimer's experts had modest expectations for the drug, called solanezumab (sohl-ah-NAYZ'-uh-mab). It had already failed in two large studies in people with mild-to-moderate forms of the disease. Combined results, however, suggested that the drug might work for those with the mildest symptoms.

Lilly started another study, testing monthly infusions of the drug for 18 months in those patients.

The drug binds to a protein called amyloid that builds up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. The drug clears the protein from the brain before it can clump together to form a sticky plaque between nerve cells. Researchers think the protein triggers the degenerative disease, which impairs memory and thought.

Amyloid still plays some role, and it's premature to abandon the notion of targeting it, said a specialist who has led many previous failed Alzheimer's drug studies.

"When you get a result like this you have to question, is it the stage of the disease, is it the particular drug you are testing, or is it some combination? Or is the strategy wrong?" said Dr. Stephen Salloway, neurology chief at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. "We don't know the answer."

Lilly's drug is still being studied in two other major tests. One involves patients with a rare, inherited form of Alzheimer's, and the other is a prevention trial of people who have no symptoms but have deposits of amyloid in their brain as seen on scans.

At least 18 other drugs are in late-stage testing, including several similar to solanezumab. Dietary therapies, supplements and even a medical device also are being tried.

"There are other approaches that we need to pursue," Carrillo said. "We need to redouble our efforts."

Scientists say the search for a better Alzheimer's treatment presents several problems. They also believe changes in the brain of a person with Alzheimer's begin many years before the patient shows symptoms. That means that by the time diagnosis happens, the brain may be essentially too damaged for potential treatments to work.

Lilly has spent about $3 billion over the past 27 years on Alzheimer's research. One of the drugmaker's researchers, Dr. Eric Siemers, said the latest results were a "bump in the road," and scientists are looking forward to learning more from the results of other potential treatments.

"We're continuing to go forward, it's just not as fast as we would like," said Siemers.

With more than 5 million people in the United States afflicted, Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia. There's no known way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression.

Current treatments on the market, like Aricept and Namenda, only temporarily ease symptoms such as memory loss, confusion and agitation.

Alzheimer's patients typically live an average of eight years after their symptoms become noticeable, during which the disease gradually erodes their memory and ability to think or perform simple tasks.

Wall Street analysts had given Lilly's drug relatively low odds of success. Even so, shares of Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. plunged more than 10 percent, or $8.02, to $67.97 Wednesday afternoon. Shares of other drugmakers researching Alzheimer's treatments, like Biogen Inc., also sank in early trading.

___

AP Chief Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione in Milwaukee contributed to this report.

 

[DrCommonSense]

i know you "despise" EBM.

clearly you do not remember the "days" when medical decision making was guided solely by "my clinical experience" alone.

the beauty of EBM that you fail to grasp is that for every Chou, there is a Manchikanti. do the research, publish, and prove that what you are advocating does work.

and more frequently than you think, this happens:
https://www.apnews.com/b2b34204a835468e87bae99130e21ced

Big Pharma has been failing to come up with any novel medications for the VAST majority of diseases for the last 20 years or so.

They mostly rent seek off of generic drugs or largely repackage existing molecules with very minor changes to add another patent to INCREASE pricing.

However, due to strong lobbyist and paid off "consultants", they can influence the EBM pretty significantly towards the affirmative UNLESS the drug is a total disaster.

Examples include Lyrica, Opioids, Statins, Vioxx, most newer cancer drugs, etc.

EBM is helpful but not when its done by external consultants who are sole purpose is to "make increased efficiency" of the healthcare dollars. This will BIASED them towards a negative position on many/most procedures in healthcare to "prove" they are "saving money".

"Efficiency" researchers should be measures on their OWN METRICS. If this was done, they would be confirmed to be FRAUDULENT parasites that are pocketing 100s of millions in "consultant fees" with zero financial benefit to the system, quality metrics noted by patients or increased satisfaction from healthcare workers.

This has been PROVEN in Canada where the AHRQ has been pushing for "lean" or "six sigma" policies with DISASTROUS effects.

However, if you notice, everywhere Chou's ideas have been implemented (Washington State, Oregon), the cost of per capita Medicaid IS NOT lower than the states that have a more robust coverage policy.

Why is that? So we get less healthcare treatment at the same or more cost? Where does that money go?

Republicans are right, drain that SWAMP.

 

[Doctodd]

let's talk about vaccines....lol

 

[bedrock]

Agree that Statins are way overused. They have a number of side effects, a high NNT and although they certainly have a role for patients with really high cholesterol, they shouldn't be used as frequently as they are now for patients with mild serum lipid elevations.

It's a billion dollar industry and I have no doubt the pharmaceutical companies influenced the newer guidelines that promote more statin scripts and more $ for the pharmaceutical industry.