Fwd: Contents under pressure

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Tue, 11 Feb 2003 15:20:01 -0500

WC Douglass

Contents under pressure

 

Daily Dose

February 11, 2003

 

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The hypertension shell game

 

Twenty-five years ago, doctors were all excited about a new

class of drugs for treating high blood pressure. Beta-

blockers had failed them, so they needed a new miracle. They

got it in the form of calcium channel blockers (CCBs), which

were an instant hit.

 

Now, nine studies have shown that the miracle CCBs don't work

any better than the older, less expensive drugs.

 

CCBs were no match for the older drugs (diuretics, ACE

inhibitors and beta-blockers) when it came to reducing

cardiovascular events. Compared to patients taking the old

drugs, those taking CCBs were about 26 percent more likely to

have a heart attack and 25 percent more likely to experience

congestive heart failure than those patients on the older and

cheaper drugs.

 

As one researcher put it, the lack of cardiac benefits among

CCB users suggests that lowering blood pressure alone is not

enough to prevent heart attacks and other complications.

 

As I've said before, lowering blood pressure with drugs is a

dangerous and irrational business. After 75 years of drug

therapy for hypertension, we STILL don't know the cause of

the disease, or even what the disease is.

 

So another old doctor's tale, " controlling blood pressure

prevents heart disease, " goes into the historical trash bag.

However, if you are currently taking a CCB, don't abruptly

stop taking it, work with your doctor. The drug thinks it

owns your body, and sudden cessation will make for a nasty

business. It can be deadly.

 

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A story that will really get under your skin

 

I don't know why doctors are so resistant to any treatment

that hasn't been approved by their slave masters in

Washington. Is it stupidity, pusillanimity, or fedphobia? The

following story is an ugly one and clearly illustrates the

financial Mafiosa under which we live:

 

An enterprising doctor from Washington State imported a

remarkable product - zinc pyrithione -from Spain and called

it " Skin Cap. " It caught on quickly by word of mouth for the

treatment of psoriasis, because it really works. It was sold

over the counter and was reasonably priced. Not surprisingly,

it snowballed in popularity; so the FDA took the appropriate

(for them) action: They declared Skin Cap a dangerous

compound and took it off the market.

 

A year later, a new psoriasis " wonder drug, " under the brand

name Temovate was put on the market, and, presto, it wasn't

dangerous at all (so they say). But, it IS FDA-approved,

patented by the pharmaceutical drug giant GlaxoSmithKline,

expensive, and available only by prescription (which raises

the cost even further). Get the picture?

 

There are numerous natural remedies currently on the market.

Make a stop at your local health food store before you head

over to your pharmacist.

 

 

Itching to tell you the truth,

 

William Campbell Douglass II, MD

 

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