Statins - Is the Danger in the Dose?

Many of the deaths caused by the cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol and other drugs of the same class could have been prevented, if only patients were treated on an individual basis, says a prominent physician, researcher, and author.

September 3, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Statins - Is the Danger in the Dose?

SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS - Many of the deaths caused by the cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol and other drugs of the same class could have been prevented, if only patients were treated on an individual basis, says a prominent physician, researcher, and author.

"Most of these unfortunate victims were elderly patients. Older patients typically are more sensitive to medications, and experts suggest using lower doses," says Jay Cohen, MD, Associate Professor of Family and Preventative Medicine and Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. "However, Baycol and other statins such as Lipitor are recommended at the same potent doses for both the elderly and young adults. So instead of getting the dose that they should have, what they got was a dose of one-size-fits-all medicine."

Dr. Cohen maintains that the problem of prescription overdosing is so rampant that he was compelled to write a book on the subject. The book, entitled Over Dose: The Case Against the Drug Companies, will be available in October.

"The elderly often accumulate greater quantities of medications in their blood," says Cohen. "Common sense would therefore dictate that these patients be started with lower doses, especially with powerful drugs like Baycol."

"But unfortunately it seems that, as so often happens, common sense has no place in modern medicine," adds Joseph Mercola, Medical Director of the Optimal Wellness Center in Schaumburg, Illinois. "To treat healthy people with these potent drugs, when cholesterol can be successfully reduced in 95% of patients through proper diet and lifestyle changes, is absurd."

For Dr. Cohen's complete article on the subject of overdosage with statins, see http://www.mercola.com/2001/aug/25/baycol.htm.

For additional information on this topic see at http://www.mercola.com/article/statins.htm or contact:

Jay Cohen, MD, Univ. of California, San Diego, Email: jacohen@ucsd.edu

Joseph Mercola, DO, Optimal Wellness Center, Schaumburg, Illinois, Tel: 847-985-1777, Email: dr@mercola.com, URL: http://www.mercola.com