Indeed some can control their cholesterol with diet and exercise. Treatments begin at 200mg/dl according to the book.
The book is: “A Change of Heart: How the People of Framingham, Massachusetts, Helped Unravel the Mysteries of Cardiovascular Disease,” by Daniel Levy and Susan Brink, Knopf, NY, 2005.
My review is posted on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1GZGFZLOH71IJ/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0375412751
Thanks for asking.
This is the first time you’ve admitted you don’t know something. Make a larger habit of it.
She didn’t. It’s very hard now.
She was not referring to the study.
Vee helped me see my luck. And the skill of the doctors around me
Yeah. They gotta figure out better joints before we can have fun over 90.
The book sounds like an interesting historical treatise (and I do love the history of medicine…yes, I read your review) The thing to realise, though, is that, since this book was written just about 20 years ago, any statements on treatment are themselves likely to be little more than interesting historical facts.
I don’t know if any readers recall a series of very popular threads on the Foolish Collective board…The Cholesterol Plays. These were back in about 2005 and lost to us now. Among the topics the OP introduced was one on research and drugs in the pipeline (because it was an investment orientated board, after all). Unfortunately, that was one thread I didn’t print out. It’d be interesting to see how many of promising prospects have materialised as gamechangers beyond statins.
I think we know the statins are block busters. Lots of people take them every day.
Yes, new drugs come out all the time. And books point out they are developed and sold as better than existing drugs. Usually heavily promoted as better than the previous treatments. And used to extend patents and be better than generics.
At this point that is often not true. It can add the risk of side effects.
Yes, a book i read pointed out the many games played to claim improvement and extend patents. That includes controlled release, higher dosage, and even patenting a metabolite as a new discovery. Good business in the pursuit of profits. But more clever than good science.
Don’t forget maternal mortality. Pregnancy was pretty risky for the mother back then. I’d hazard a guess that might be secon or third to child and infant mortality in improvement over the last century.
One disturbing counter trend is RISING rates in the incidence of cancer in YOUNGER adults both nationwide and worldwide. Doctors are curing a higher percentage of cancer patients than ever before, but a growing number of young adults are being diagnosed with cancer at an increasing rate on the order of 1 to 2 percent per year. Nobody really seems to know why yet. Some combination of increasing obesity, diets, exercise and environmental factors.
Except for some mysterious factor for which we as yet have no conception, I’d say that pretty much covers it all!
Pete
Cancer can come and go during your life time. It does not have to stay.
With testing cancers that the body would fight off at a younger age are found. Years ago there would be very little testing for minor cancers.
Notice that we now have obesity drugs coming to market. When prices come down and we get generics they could be as big as statins. And we hope that means longer life expectancy.
I wonder if patent expiration might affect how soon these drugs will be available to the masses?
Pete
Could be. Its also noticeable that multiple companies have products in development. Increased competition could also help.
Very true assuming the risk does not get worse over time.