Big Pharma Knew The Dangers Of Statins Decades Ago !

Check around any diabetes or health related forum or blog and the downside of statin drugs is a regular feature. People report many side effects from memory loss to muscle pain. The heart of course is a muscle, and is also at risk from statin damage. This I find extremely worrying and ironic, as the medics ply patients with statins to allegedly lower cholesterol, to err reduce the chance of a heart attack. It is now known statins deplete coenzyme Q10 levels, and this problem should be addressed for statin users. Very few people on the aforementioned forums or blogs, mention their Doctors have addressed maintaining coenzyme Q10 levels. Doctor John Briffa started a new post on his blog yesterday, discussing this serious situation. Part of his post below. As always interesting and informative. I knew of the situation regarding statins and the coenzyme Q10 some time ago, but the real stunner for me was when a commenter called Stephen Rhodes posted, proving  Merck Pharmaceuticals knew of the problem in June 1990. As Stephen says the "real shocker" is "this special combination medication was never made available to the public. It was basically put on the shelf and forgotten"

Eddie

Part of Dr. Briffa’s post.

“All of us need could do with maintaining coenzyme Q10 levels, and this has particular relevance to individuals who take statins: these drugs impair the product of coenzyme Q10. There is plenty of evidence in animals and humans that statins can indeed deplete the body of coeynzme Q10 [1].

The heart is a muscle, the cells of which contain mitochondria which depend on coenzyme Q10. Back in January, I wrote a post which explored the possibility that statins may be contributing to increasing incidence of heart failure (weakened heart function that can lead to symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness and swelling in the legs).”

Stephen Rhodes comment.

Reading the article reminded me that I had heard something about this before.
The following is from http://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com
The Statin and Co-Enzyme Q10 Patent
It is clinically documented statin medications (Lipitor, Crestor, Zocor, etc) lower the essential nutrient, Co-Enzyme Q10.
Co-Enzyme Q10 is an important co-factor in the production of energy and particularly important in muscle function.
Clinical studies show decreasing levels of Co-Enzyme Q10 lead to increasing severity of cardiovascular symptoms.
Now here is the shocker!
The pharmaceutical company, Merck, was issued a patent (4,933,165) on a special medication combining a statin medication and Co-Enzyme Q10.
The researchers knew back in the late 80s and early 90s the significance of adding Co-Enzyme Q10 to statins. Furthermore they knew very well the negative impact of taking statins without supplementing with CoEnzyme Q10.
The sad news is this special combination medication was never made available to the public. It was basically put on the shelf and forgotten.
To read the entire patent, download the patent and see what has been hidden from the public for over 20 years.
DOWNLOAD CoQ10-Statin Patent
http://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/statin-CoQ10.pdf

Link to Dr. Briffa's blog and article here.