What is Diabetes Type 2
Diabetes mellitus type 2 (formerly called diabetes mellitus type II, non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM), obesity related diabetes, or adult-onset diabetes) is a metabolic disor...
Join Now
|
Vytorin: Whats the deal?
|
Watch this |
| View More Posts Ignore |
Many of you have heard the news generated by results released by Merck about Vytorin..I know many of my patients called me about it
Here is the story: 1) As you know Vytorin is a mixture of 2 medications: Zetia (a non-statin drug) and Zocor (Simvastatin) 2) Remember when Zocor went generic Merck made the mixture of the two which enabled them to keep a cholesterol drug (brand name) on the market (more money for them...) 3) the ENHANCE trial looked at 720 patients with a familial form of hypercholesterolemia (Heterozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia) 4) They compared ZOCOR alone to VYTORIN (the mixture of zetia and zocor)and measured 3 sites in the carotid arteries to see if they saw improvement (they measure something we commonly look at on ultrasound of the carotids called INTIMA-MEDIA THICKNESS or IMT) 5) THE RESULTS SHOWED no difference in the Zocor group vs the Vytorin group in the thickness of the carotid artery wall 6) There is an ongoing study (IMPROVE-IT) with 10,000 patients trying to see if there is a difference in cardiovascular mortality between the two.....no results yet....stay tuned..... Bottom line: if you are NOT AT GOAL LDL ( Posted on 01/25/08, 09:01 pm |
| 8 Replies | Add Your Reply |
| View More Posts Ignore |
DR O you dint say what to do if not @ LDL goal & is there a nutritional suppliment to try?
God Bless chip 
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
I must look up about this hypercholesterolmenis....trying to find reasons why sudden deaths happen so much in my husbands family. :( Cathrynn X
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
Sorry...it was cut off
IF you are not at Goal LDL (less than 100 in diabetics) on Zocor (Simvastatin 80 mg) THEN it makes sense to give Zetia a try. Dr O.
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
bump
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
bump again
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
Dr. for something unrelated, I was told, yesterday, by a gastro Dr. that Zetia was all in the news in the last few days. she told me to talk with my internal med. dr. about getting off it.
Scares me. I was on trileptal, but whether it was discontinued, or just that the military quit carrying it, they put me on zetia as the replacement. I'm already on lipitor, for cholosterol, but need extra help with triglycerides. any suggestions?
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
I've been watching the latest unfold regarding Vytorin. From what I read yesterday in the paper, it brings me to wonder if the links between LDL, HDL, Triglycerides, C Reactive Protein and heart disease is even valid.
My levels of all of these factors is very very bad. I have familial CRP markers. But from what I can gather and what I remember from the past few years, the link between poor cholesterol levels and plaque or heart disease is not necessarily solid. I'd like to hear your thoughts on it doc.
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
1) Hey Baggyknees: Zetia has no new health concerns that we know if its just been found to be a not very effective agent when added to statins (so doesnt give you much benefit over a statin alone)
2) Re: the ? of relationship between LDL and plaque, etc. Yes LDL cholesterol has been found to be an independant predictor of death from heart diseae (the CRP studies are not as strong) and a LOW HDL with a NORMAL LDL may also be a predictor (though that is not nearly as strong a relationship as LDL). Yes...some people with heart attacks have Normal LDL...so its not the only answer Dr O.
|
|
|
|
||
| Add Your Reply |
