Cholesterol Medications Linked to Eye Disease
Many patients balk at the prospect of taking cholesterol lowering medications. The benefits, according to studies, are profound, but worries persist about the ill effects. Many patients report muscle aches, fatigue, and even memory loss. Lowering cholesterol too much has even been associated with a possible link to cancer. According to a new study, statins (cholesterol lowering drugs) might hasten the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that leads to blindness and affects more than ten million Americans.
The researchers looked at data from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study to determine if statins have a beneficial effect on protecting the eyes from macular degeneration and glaucoma, as previously suggested. A study from 2006 found that the drugs may improve blood flow in the retinal arteries and veins, reducing the risk of all eye diseases associated with impaired ocular circulation.
The study was presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology 2008 Annual Meeting, following an analysis of 1266 subjects who were followed for eleven years. The patients had neovascular AMD and/or central geographic atrophy (CGA). CGA is a condition that causes loss of vision in the center of the eye, and neovascular AMD refers to an abnormal growth of blood vessels in the macula of the eye.
The researchers found that AMD advanced in 481 patients, 323 developed AMD, and 233 experienced CGA. The authors concluded that the use of cholesterol lowering drugs seemed to promote advanced neurovascular age-related macular degeneration.
Caution is urged regarding the study: “We are not saying that statins are a risk factor in the progression of age-related AMD. There are a lot of confounding variables. But what this study shows is that they don’t seem to have a beneficial effect.”
Despite the findings, Dr Frederick L Ferris III (National Eye Institute) says, “We don’t want patients to be concerned about the effects of statins on their eyes”. Statins still have well documented effects on the lives of patients.
Dr. John T Thompson (University of Maryland, Baltimore) said during an interview, “The significance here is that there have been conflicting reports as to whether statins are protective, and this study says that they are not. There needs to be further studies to sort this out.”
Sources: The Use of Statins and the Development of AMD in AREDS
Statins improve blood flow in the retinal arteries and veins
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Posted by Kathleen, RN
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I have had permanent vision damage from statins. Profound eye bleeds, followed by huge floaters, and a drop of some background layer making me nearly blind in all but brightest light. Then, shortly after this I was diagnosed with an endothelial dystrophy. Said to be genetic, but no one in my family has it. None even have cataracts into their 90s.
My mother was on statins for a period. We didn’t know, but heard from her how she couldn’t get out of bed, was ‘losing the use of (her) legs”, terrible pain in shoulders, pain in stomach, brown urine. We got her off them, at great anger from her doctor. She recovered somewhat, not completely even after four years, but om that time off them was diagnosed with macular degeneration.
These drugs have horrible unremitting side effects, and doctors just believe what the drugs companies tell them, never bothering to look further. That would take time. They need all the time they can get to write prescriptions and make more money. While people die, get diagnosed with vision and eye injuries from them, have ALS syndrome which the World Health Organization links to statins.
Even when you tell your doctor how you are suffering from these drugs, they don’t believe you. Then, you find out, you really didn’t need to be on them at all, because they have no mortality protection for anyone but middle aged men with previous cardiovascular disease. All this taking them for protection is nothing but a scam. It’s bad enough the dishonesty of the drug companies, but doctors are supposed to be working for us, not the drug companies. They have totally become drug pushers and shills for pharma.