As I understand it, Zocor etc. work through the liver because the liver manufactures cholesterol. They fool the liver into thinking it doesn’t have to make as much.

If Zetia works in the intestines, rather than the liver, I assume it reduces the cholesterol that is ingested (rather than manufactured by your body).

I do use the aspirin (when I remember to take it) and my doctor is now touting a newer cholesterol-lowering drug called Zetia. It works through the intestine, rather than the liver and supposedly has no side effects like muscle pain. We’ll see, but I’m wary. I just don’t want to feel like 46 going on 86 again.

You are right to question the products of the pharma industry nowadays, they may not have our best interests at heart.:–)

LA Times (last week) ran an very thorough investigative piece on the NIH and their compromised medical ethics of late that may have more to do with whose money is flowing into their pockets.

But there is a much bigger story related to NIH we are pushing into the Blogos to fire off a debate on DOD’s Lil Shoppe of Horrors and their anthrax vaccine. The actual risk of exposure from a legit bio attack may be a “much a due about nothing.” Now smallpox is an entirely different story.

See our ad running on Blackfive and the Drudge Retort (Yeah this is a spoof on the Drudge Report but the rates are reasonable. So are your’s we may buy an ad here too).

See comment on this developing story in a post at the Drudge Retort (Sorry – no hook to actual comment but it’s within the first five):

Drudge Retort

Date: Mon Jan 03, 2005 08:16:51 PM PST

Subject: RE UR STORY ON TCAS AND LT. COL LACKLEN

Re Lt. Col. Lacklen and previous story on TCAS

ANTHRAX VACCINE CAUSAL LINK FOR GULF WAR SYNDROME?

Dear Mr. Hartman, CBS 60 Minutes:

There is a major story now emerging in the Blogosphere (Blogos) that will dwarf Rathergate. Run Google search with the keywords “Lacklen +anthrax.” Col. Lacklen in your previous story segment may be a victim of the military’s covert experimental anthrax vaccine program.

This story has been percolating along on many fronts for several years. It is now about to reach critical mass. The MSM is sitting on the sidelines for fear of another Rathergate. Unfortunately the MSM and Rather don’t understand the Blogos well. This is not about partisan politics but a newly emerging medium to convey info and the news of the day. Imagine a vast neuro net of dendritic/synapses forging connections at an exponential rate with massive parallel processing power to bring to bare on research questions.

HSPIG has no hidden agenda other than protecting the interests of our men and women in uniform either now or in the past. As Bill O’Reilly says, “Who’s looking out for you?” Our svs personnel have enough to do fighting this war without having to worry about, “covering their backs.” Senior military commanders may have been mislead as to the actual level of risk. A serious complication rate of 25 to 30% exists. These reactions occur at the molecular level. Further there may be a genetic predisposition.

The nexus-unifying link is Gary Matsumoto’s new book “Vaccine A.” If true and we believe the science is sound, demonstrates a casual link between the DOD’s anthrax vaccine program and Gulf War Syndrome. The story gets bigger because the DOD’s “Lil Shoppe of Horror’s” should be fully aware of this now, but insists on continuing with this program. The DOD may have conducted experimental clinical trials using this vaccine on svs personnel without their informed consent and or knowledge. The military can do this and svs personnel have no recourse per Feres Doctrine. This faulty research may now expand into civilian vaccines that are critical to our survival. The people involved are literally playing with fire they don’t understand. There is an abundance of independent research available to show that the DOD’s research is flawed.

[...]

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Ron Wright

In a way, this may be good news. If inflamation is more important than cholesterol in the pathology of heart disease, you may be able to get the lion’s share of the benefits with alternative anti-inflammatory, C-Reactive Protein-reducing drugs like aspirin.

Oh, and in case you were thinking of changing your health habits based on what some anonymous commenter wrote – Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor!

It is good to know that statins are good for so many conditions,if only I could remember to take them.