email from bill also on January 17 2008
"...on Monday, Merck and Schering-Plough
announced that Vytorin, which combines Zetia with Zocor, had failed to reduce
the growth of fatty arterial plaque in a trial of 720 patients. In fact,
patients taking Vytorin actually had more plaque growth than those who took
Zocor alone.
Despite those drawbacks, that trial, called Enhance, also showed that patients
on Vytorin had lower LDL levels than those on Zocor alone. For the second time
in just over a year, a clinical trial found that LDL reduction did not
translate into measurable medical benefits."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/business/17drug.html?ref=health
[BL: lends credence to the argument that some have made to the effect that the
reason some of these drugs work a little, such as Crestor, is that they are
anti-oxidants as well has HMG-CO Reductase inhibitors. Certain polyphenols,
such as pomegranate juice, have in fact been shown to actually reverse plaque
buildup.]