Health e-Tips - Sins of omission --- New Drug - for increasing HDL

[Guest guest]

Reposting part o f the newsletter, Health e-Tips. Thought this was

interesting.

blessings

Shan

 

Dear Reader,

 

Now that Big Pharma has cornered its own statin drug market, it decided it

needed a new way to profit from cholesterol. Lowering it is old news, so they've

moved on to the opposite end of the spectrum: Merck & Co. has spent the past

year developing a drug that will raise levels of HDL cholesterol.

 

HDL is considered the " good " form of cholesterol: Researchers believe it

carries cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver where it can be

processed and excreted from the body. Low levels of HDL cholesterol have been

linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. So, obviously, raising them

is a good thing. But the way Merck is going about it is a bit underhanded if

you ask me.

 

The primary active ingredient in its new drug, called Cordaptive, is nothing

more than an extended-release form of the nutrient niacin. So how are they

going to patent -- and profit from -- an all-natural vitamin, you might wonder?

Well, they've combined the niacin with a drug called laropiprant.

 

No, it doesn't have HDL-boosting abilities of its own. And no, it doesn't

increase the effectiveness of the niacin. Laropiprant has the singular purpose

of

preventing the facial flushing that can occur when you take large quantities

of niacin.

 

While this side effect can be bothersome, it's certainly not

life-threatening. But according to Merck's research, fewer patients experienced

this flushing

with the niacin/laropiprant combination than with niacin alone. That's fewer

-- not none. So apparently, adding the drug isn't a fool-proof solution. The

results were good enough for regulators to accept Merck's marketing application,

though.

 

But here's what they won't want you to know when the FDA approves Cordaptive

and Merck launches their gazillion-dollar ad campaign for it: You can get

extended-release, " flush-free " niacin formulations in just about any natural

food

store or vitamin shop. In fact, Dr. Wright has been recommending them for

years! He typically advises his patients to use a form of niacin called inositol

hexaniacinate.

 

I'm sure that these versions of niacin escaped the Merck R & D team's notice

during its research, though, and that they stuck with " regular " niacin, which is

much more likely to cause flushing. In other words, they stacked the deck

against the natural version so that their formula would come out victorious in

this little contest of wills.

 

Once again, the devil's in the details…

 

No doubt Coraptive will hit the market with a bang next year. And Merck will

likely make a pretty penny from it. But those of us who know better will get

the same heart- healthy results without spending a fortune, and without putting

ourselves at risk for whatever side effects will undoubtedly emerge from

their attempt to patent nature by combining it with something thoroughly

unnatural.

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

A company marketing a non-flush niacin product, claims that " niacin

hexa-niacinate " is not effective in raising HDL in the human body. I'll search

for the company's name. They claim that their niacin product " does " raise HDL.

jp

-

surpriseshan2

MCS-Canada

Monday, October 01, 2007 8:19 AM

Health e-Tips - Sins of omission --- New

Drug - for increasing HDL