Lipitor Beats Pravachol In Heart Study
A scientific
study indicates Lipitor is more effective than Pravachol, a researcher
told colleagues at a meeting in Orlando, Fla.
Both drugs are
widely prescribed to treat high cholesterol, but in patients taking Pravachol
atherosclerosis worsened slowly over 18 months, whereas the disease was
halted in patients taking Lipitor, the New York Times reported.
"We saw something
extraordinary," said Dr. Steven Nissen, the cardiologist at the Cleveland
Clinic who directed a study of 502 patients.
"All statins
are not alike," Nissen said, adding that with Pravachol, heart atherosclerosis
will worsen, but with the highest dose of Lipitor, that is unlikely.
Pfizer sponsored
the study, but Nissen insisted he control the study and its data analysis
-- and had the right by contract to publish the results whether positive
or negative for Pfizer.
He described
his study at the American Heart Association meeting.
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