Potentially life-saving steroids commonly given to preterm babies also increase the risk of long-term cardiovascular problems, but a new study in rats has found that if given in conjunction with statins, their positive effects remain while the potential negative side-effects are ‘weeded out’.
Negative media coverage of the side effects associated with taking statins, and patients’ own experiences of taking the drugs, are among the reasons cited by stroke survivors and their carers for stopping taking potentially life-saving drugs, according to research published today.
An approved anti-cancer drug successfully targets the first step in the toxic chain reaction that leads to Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that treatments may be found to lower the risk of developing the neurodegenerative condition.
The use of statins in patients without a prior history of heart attacks and strokes is of little real benefit in preventing deaths in the short term - the largest study of its type to date has found.
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