Daily Express - EXCLUSIVE: Parkinson's link to statins: Calls to end widespread use of the drug

PLANS for the mass prescription of statins should be shelved after a study linked the drug to Parkinson’s disease, an expert last night warned.

Dr Kailash Chand, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association, was speaking following research which found those who take the cholesterol-lowering drugs are more than twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease in later life than those who do not.

A study last week showed statin use increases the risk of diabetes by 46 per cent.

It has led to calls to end to the widespread use of the drugs.

The Parkinson’s research carried out over 20 years, and involving nearly 16,000 people, suggests cholesterol may have a vital role in protecting the brain and nervous system.

The findings have alarmed experts who say if applied to the number of Britons deemed eligible for statins it could equate to 150,000 extra patients with Parkinson’s, a central nervous system disorder affecting one in 350 mostly older people.

The work has also fuelled concerns that statins, now recommended for up to half the adult population over 50 by government drug policy adviser the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, may be doing many patients more harm than good........

BBC NEWS | Health | Statin-fortified drinking water?
www.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3931157.stm

1 Aug 2004 - Has cardiovascular disease become so common that statins may as well be added to the water supply?
Best advice is steer clear of all drugs, eat healthy food stay positive and find meaning to your life.