Clinical Trials

Statin or Supplements?

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So, which is most effective? Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic set out to answer this question by comparing statins to supplements in a clinical trial. They tracked the outcomes of 190 adults, ages 40 to 75. Some participants were given a 5 mg daily dose of rosuvastatin, a statin that is sold under the brand name Crestor for 28 days. Others were given supplements, including fish oil, cinnamon, garlic, turmeric, plant sterols or red yeast rice for the same period.

“What we found was that rosuvastatin lowered LDL cholesterol by almost 38% and that was vastly superior to placebo and any of the six supplements studied in the trial,” study author Luke Laffin, M.D. of the Cleveland Clinic’s Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute told NPR. He says this level of reduction is enough to lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes. The findings are published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Statins vs. supplements: New study finds one is ‘vastly superior’ to cut cholesterol – https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/11/06/1134094540/statins-vs-supplements-new-study-finds-one-is-vastly-superior-to-cut-cholesterol

Sometimes diet and exercise alone are not enough to keep cholesterol in check. I currently take a low dose statin 10 mg daily. My test results from 09.27.22: cholesterol 197, HDL 71, LDL 102, triglycerides 69.

Oh, and continuing the theme of full disclosure the thing on my leg Image Challenge – November 2022 was MUD.

Mortality Falls After AF Ablation in Heart Failure

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A majority of patients in the ablation group, about 63%, were in sinus rhythm at the 60-month follow-up, compared with only 22% (P<0.001) in the group with medically managed AF, “which suggests that maintenance of sinus rhythm is beneficial when achieved without the use of antiarrhythmic drugs,” write the authors, led by Dr Nassir F Marrouche (University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City).

Read the source article here.

 

Gila Monster News – From Lizard to Laboratory… and Beyond

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While studying the effects of exendin-4 on the pancreas, Dr. Egan and her colleagues found that it also seemed to have beneficial effects on the brain. Specifically, GLP-1 stimulates the growth of neurites (developing neurons) in cell culture, and both GLP-1 and exendin-4 protect mature neurons against cell death. In fact, research increasingly suggests that there may be a link between some neurodegenerative disorders and metabolic dysfunction. The hope is that drugs, such as exendin-4, that enhance metabolic function may also be useful in the treatment of neurologic disease.

Building on these findings, Dr. Egan and others in the NIA Intramural Research Program have tested exendin-4 in cellular and mouse models of several neurodegenerative diseases. The results are promising. For example, using a mouse model of Huntington’s disease, they found that exendin-4 reduces the accumulation of the mutant huntingtin protein, which is implicated in the disease’s onset and progression. The treatment also improved motor function and extended the survival time of the Huntington’s disease mice.

In other studies, investigators found that exendin-4 significantly reduced levels of amyloid beta protein (a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease) and its precursor molecule in mice models of the disorder. It also proved beneficial in cellular and animal models of another neurodegenerative disorder, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

via National Institute on Aging | The Leader in Aging Research.