In spite of the fact of these ongoing lawsuits below, statin drugs have just gotten a new push and the medical field will be prescribing them to people with low cholesterol.

As noted, all statins can and do cause problems with the skeletal muscles in some patients, and muscular pain is one of the more common reasons that statins must be discontinued in some individuals.

http://heartdisease.about.com/libra...y/aa081301a.htm

Heart experts call for wider statins use
Research reported in the Lancet (Saturday 6 July, 2002) is set to revolutionise the way cholesterol-lowering drugs are prescribed. It shows that using “statin” drugs to lower blood cholesterol levels protects a far wider range of people at risk of heart attacks and strokes than had previously been thought to benefit. These findings should lead to major changes in treatment guidelines, preventing tens of thousands of deaths each year.

At present, statins are often restricted to people who have heart disease and elevated cholesterol levels. But, new findings from the UK’s 20,000-patient Heart Protection Study show that statins also cut the risks of heart attacks and strokes in people who have diabetes, or have narrowing of arteries in their legs, or have had a stroke. Most remarkably, the study found substantial benefits even among those high-risk patients considered to have “normal” or “low” cholesterol levels. It provides definite evidence that guidelines should be changed so that – irrespective of the blood cholesterol level – a statin is considered for anybody at increased risk of either heart attacks or strokes.

http://www.mrc.ac.uk/index/public_i..._protection.htm

Over 400 Fatalities Made Rezulin A Deadly Diabetes Medicine

Rezulin is a medication that was prescribed for Type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes.

Just three years after the Food and Drug Administration approved its use, the agency -- under pressure from physicians and patients -- requested that the manufacturer of Rezulin, Parke-Davis/Warner-Lambert, withdraw the drug from the market. On March 22, 2000, the company complied with the FDA's request. Approximately 750,000 Americans were using Rezulin prior to its recall. The drug is now linked to over 400 patient deaths.

However, we believe that number represents only the tip of the iceberg of Rezulin deaths, since there were potentially ten times that number in actual deaths, most of which went unreported to the FDA. Also, those 400 deaths refer only to mortality linked to acute liver failure, so that figure does not include people who will die of, for example, cirrhosis due to exposure to Rezulin, or those who will die prematurely due to a hastening of their disease.

HermanMathis has been in the forefront of litigation against the manufacturer of Rezulin in seeking compensation for clients with liver damage or failure, including cirrhosis. This means HermanMathis can help you or someone you know who has taken Rezulin. Click here to have one of our experienced attorneys evaulate a potential liver injury claim.

At the time of Rezulin's FDA approval in 1997 (the same year it was banned in Great Britain) liver toxicity was already known to be a potential side-effect. In the short time it was approved, the FDA supervised no fewer than four changes in the manufacturer's warning labels in an attempt to address these potentially fatal risk factors.

During that same period of time, the FDA received reports of increasing numbers of serious liver ailments due to Rezulin use, including liver failure. These liver failures resulted in the hundreds of deaths linked to Rezulin, and in other cases caused patients to require liver transplants.

For victims with health problems due to Rezulin, the Joslin Diabetic Center at Harvard Medical School (Boston) and USC Liver Center (Los Angeles) are now treating patients suffering from liver damage or failure.

http://www.hermanmathis-rezulin.com/ppc_sa.htm

Baycol Cerivastatin

Bayer Pharmaceutical Division is voluntarily withdrawing Baycol (cerivastatin) from the U.S. market because of reports of sometimes fatal rhabdomyolysis, a severe muscle adverse reaction from this cholesterol-lowering (lipid-lowering) product. The FDA agrees with and supports this decision.
Baycol (cerivastatin), which was initially approved in the U.S. in 1997, is a member of a class of cholesterol lowering drugs that are commonly referred to as "statins." Statins lower cholesterol levels by blocking a specific enzyme in the body that is involved in the synthesis of cholesterol. While all statins have been associated with very rare reports of rhabdomyolysis, cases of fatal rhabdomyolysis in association with the use of Baycol have been reported significantly more frequently than for other approved statins.

Fatal rhabdomyolysis reports with Baycol have been reported most frequently when used at higher doses, when used in elderly patients, and particularly, when used in combination with gemfibrozil (LOPID and generics ), another lipid lowering drug. FDA has received reports of 31 U.S. deaths due to severe rhabdomyolysis associated with use of Baycol, 12 of which involved concomitant gemfibrozil use.

Rhabdomyolysis is a condition that results in muscle cell breakdown and release of the contents of muscle cells into the bloodstream. Symptoms of rhabdomyolysis include muscle pain, weakness, tenderness, malaise, fever, dark urine, nausea, and vomiting. The pain may involve specific groups of muscles or may be generalized throughout the body.

Most frequently the involved muscle groups are the calves and lower back; however, some patients report no symptoms of muscle injury. In rare cases the muscle injury is so severe that patients develop renal failure and other organ failure, which can be fatal.

Bayer Pharmaceutical Division has announced plans to withdraw Baycol to the pharmacy level. Pharmacies will be instructed to return the product to the manufacturer for a refund.

Patients who are taking Baycol should consult with their physicians about switching to alternate medications to control their cholesterol levels. Patients taking Baycol who are experiencing muscle pain or are also taking gemfibrozil should discontinue Baycol immediately and consult their physician.

There are five other statins available in the U.S. that may be considered as alternatives to Baycol. They are: lovastatin (Mevacor), pravastatin (Pravachol), simvastatin (Zocor), fluvastatin (Lescol), and atorvastatin (Lipitor).

http://baycol-class-action-lawsuit.com/