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- Herbal Remedy Could Halt Peanut Allergy
- Air Quality Better in Northeast, Midwest
- ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
- Grapefruit Compound Inhibits Hepatitis C Virus
- Ginkgo No Shield Against Alzheimer's
- Could Chinese Herb Be a Natural Viagra?
- ANIMAL CARE
- Separation Anxiety, Canine-Style
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- Rest Easy. When It Comes to Swine Flu, Your Pet Is Safe
- BONES & JOINTS
- Barefoot Lifestyle Has Its Dangers
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- Diabetic Hispanics Missing Out on Eye Exams
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- GENERAL HEALTH
- Spot light on Dani Antman New Lionheart teacher
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- HEAD & NECK
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- HEALTH & TECHNOLOGY
- The Internet Is Becoming One-Stop Shopping for Health Help
- E-Mailing Your Way to Healthier Habits
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- HEART & CARDIOVASCULAR
- Psychiatric Drugs Might Raise Cardiac Death Risk
- B-Vitamins Help Protect Against Stroke, Heart Disease
- Years of Heavy Smoking Raises Heart Risks
- INFECTIOUS DISEASE
- Swine Flu Now Reported in All 50 States
- The HPV Vaccine: Preventative Medicine or Human Sacrifice?
- Swine Flu Is Now a Pandemic Says W.H.O.
- KID'S HEALTH
- Exercise During Pregnancy Keeps Newborn Size Normal
- 6 Million U.S. Kids Lack Enough Vitamin D
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- Exercise May Prevent Prostate Cancer: Study Shows
- Sunlight May Help Protect Men From Kidney Cancer
- Countdown to Hair Loss
- MENTAL HEALTH
- Massage Fosters Healing in Bereaved Relatives
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- Common Social Groups and Race, Seem to Help People Relate
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- Sugary Colas Tied to Gestational Diabetes
- Calcium Supplements Cut Blood Lead Levels During Pregnancy
- Breast-Feeding Benefits Moms and Babies
- SENIORS
- Memory Loss Help from Brain Supplement Prevagen
- Laughter Can Stimulate a Dull Appetite
- Mediterranean Diet Plus Exercise Lowers Alzheimer's Risk
Statin Drugs Cause Eye Disorders
By eHolistic.com Published: 12/11/2008
Want to lower cholesterol levels in hopes of preventing coronary heart disease and stroke? The odds are your doctor will probably prescribe a statin drug. In fact, a recent Forbes report found that from 11 million to 30 million Americans are already taking these drugs and many physicians argue another 25 million should be popping these pills daily. What’s often lost in the hype about this class of drugs is the reality of the side effects – sometimes serious – associated with statins, including muscle pain, neurological disorders, rashes and liver problems.
Now comes word of yet another downside to these supposedly “magic bullets” for artery clogging cholesterol. A new study led by F.W. Fraunfelder, MD, of the Casey Eye Institute of Oregon Health and Science University, is the first to systematically report on eye disorders caused by statin use. The results are published in the December issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Dr. Fraunfelder's group analyzed reports of double vision (diplopia), drooping of the upper eyelid (ptosis), and loss of full range of motion of the eyes (ophthalmoplegia) in people taking statins. Because statins are already known to cause skeletal muscle disorders in some patients, the scientists reasoned that a similar impact of the drugs on eye muscles was most likely the reason for the eye problems.
They used databases of the National Registry of Drug-Induced Ocular Side Effects, the World Health Organization, and the Food and Drug Administration to document the case reports, which included 143 males, 91 females, and 22 persons with gender unspecified. The average age of the patients was 64.5 years and the dose of statins those with eye disorders took was within the normal range recommended by drug manufacturers. On average, they took the drugs for only 8.3 months before they began to develop an adverse reaction affecting their eyes.
In all, the researchers found 23 cases of loss of eye range of motion, 8 cases of ptosis, and 18 cases of ptosis combined with double vision. The good news: These eye disorders completely went away in all patients when statins were discontinued.
"We advise physicians prescribing statins to be aware that these eye disorders may result, and that medications should be discontinued if so,” Dr. Fraunfelder concluded in a statement to the media. “When a patient has one of these eye disorders, he should be rigorously evaluated to determine the cause, and statin use should be taken into account."
The recent Forbes report on the statin industry revealed the drugs generated $34 billion in sales last year and have raked in a quarter of a trillion dollars since they were introduced about 20 years ago. The drugs are currently being increasingly pushed to a wider population, including children. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently recommended some children as young as eight should be aggressively treated with cholesterol-lowering statins, despite the fact there are no long-term studies showing the drugs are safe and effective for children.
Instead of focusing on a quick medication fix if you or your children have elevated cholesterol, consider that lifestyle changes can dramatically reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke – without the potentially dangerous side effects of drugs. According to the Mayo Clinic’s web site, not smoking, eating a healthy diet, getting daily exercise and managing stress are examples of lifestyle changes that will improve cholesterol, as well as most all of the other risk factors for heart disease. In fact, the Mayo Clinic notes that lifestyle changes may have a greater impact on reducing risk of heart disease and stroke than medication.
-Sherry Baker