How safe are statins?

[truedelphi]

Statins are used to help an individual lower their cholesterol levels. The theory is - if your level is higher than 190, you are at greater risk of heart disease. There are people who dispute this - for instance, many people in Denmark have high cholesterol, but they also do not have a higher rate of death from heart disease. (Perhaps the pervasiveness of fish in the typical Danish person's diet offsets the cholesterol?)


However there are concerns. Statins are now being implicated in the development of rapid onset ALS or neuropathy.


Several sources for what I am saying:

Source One, an individual and her personal experience with statins - and part of her testimony is that once it became clear to her GP that her health had been affected by statins, her medical records were altered!

She includes this:
When researching information on peripheral neuropathy I found this information:

“For susceptible individuals, the use of a statin drug can interfere with proper functioning of peripheral nerves. Researchers assume that the build-up of statins in the body causes neuropathy in some individuals. If left undiagnosed, neuropathy can lead to deterioration of the muscles and paralysis. This can lead to problems swallowing, breathing, and complications of the heart –
as these all involve muscle groups. In the extreme case, severe neuropathy as a side-effect to statin use can lead to death.”

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:63SZIoFJKAIJ:www.inspire.com/groups/als-advocacy/discussion/statins-and-als-like-syndrome-1/+statins+%2B+ALS&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Source Two:

This is the website of another individual whose husband developed what doctors called ALS, and which he is now dying from - after only some months on the statin medication. Please note: Tradionally ALS ALWAYS starts from the feet or knees up. In the case where the neuropathy is Statin-induced, it seems to start at the neck, or shoulders or upper back area.

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:PJF0Adxp1sEJ:www.onlineathens.com/stories/082509/liv_485566558.shtml+statins+%2B+ALS&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=usLiving

The Third Source is the most technical of all the sources, and takes a bit more effort to understand. But offers a much more clinical/scientific understanding of what is involved.

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:0oxKS---QCcJ:www.spacedoc.net/ALS_statins.html+statins+%2B+ALS&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us