This paper was published in World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics 2009;100:80-9
Study title and author:
Disappointing recent cholesterol-lowering drug trials: is it not time for a full reappraisal of the cholesterol theory?
de Lorgeril M.
Coeur et Nutrition, Université Joseph Fourier-Grenoble 1, CNRS, Laboratoire TIMC-IMAG, UMR 5525, Faculté de Médecine, Grenoble, France. michel.delorgeril@ujf-grenoble.fr
This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19696530
Dr Michel de Lorgeril is internationally known for his work on cardiovascular disease. Dr de Lorgeril reviews the results from cholesterol-lowering drug trials.
Dr de Lorgeril examined the results of ten statin trials since 2005.
He found:
(a) In 2005 new clinical reseach regulations were introduced to try and stop biased results in clinical trials.
(b) Most of the statin trials before 2005 show positive health benefits with statin usage.
(c) Since 2005 nine of the ten statin trials provided negative health results.
(d) The one trial that gave positive results (JUPITER) was clinically inconsistent and probably biased.
With this information Dr de Lorgeril suggests:
(i) The positive trials published before 2005 should be urgently re-examined.
(ii) At a minimum, experts independent of industry and free of conflict of interest should be asked to carefully check all the raw data recorded in the datasheets and redo the statistical analyses.
Dr de Lorgeril concludes: "The next question would then be: is it not time for a full reappraisal of the cholesterol theory?"
