Cataracts: the secret side effect of cholesterol meds

It’s the best-kept secret out there about all of those cholesterol-lowering drugs.

In fact, Big Pharma seems to have gone to such lengths to keep it under cover, I wouldn’t be surprised if your doctor didn’t even know!

Now, this vision-blurring side effect is rearing its shadowy head again where the newest heavy hitting cholesterol-busting meds are concerned.

But it really shouldn’t come as a surprise, because if there’s anything your eyes need to work right, it’s cholesterol.

‘Only the beginning…’
We’ve told you a lot about how statin drugs can make your life miserable, including causing severe muscle pain and weakness, liver damage and, of course, new-onset diabetes.

But here’s another one that every single doctor who writes an Rx for any of these drugs should be warning about: cataracts.

And the knowledge that cholesterol-lowering meds can damage the eyes is as old as the hills. It goes way, way back to 1987 when Merck put the first statin, Mevacor, on the market. At that time a published review said that cataracts were one of “the most serious” side effects discovered about the drug.

Since that time, the studies have been piling up.

For example:

• A 2010 study published in the BMJ crunched data on over 2 million people, finding that every statin studied was “associated with an increased risk” of cataracts in men and women.
• In 2012, a Canadian study discovered that diabetics who take statins can up their risk of cataracts by 50 percent!
• Two studies in 2013 again confirmed the threat, with one putting the risk of cataracts at close to 30 percent. Other research has found those who take statins to have an almost 60 percent greater risk.

Now, the latest study on the newest cholesterol meds called PCSK9 inhibitors (Repatha and Praluent) has come in. And while the researchers are reporting the cataract risk, it’s almost as if they’re saying, “Oh well, it’s only cataracts, don’t worry about it.”

In fact, that sounds very much like some of the comments doctors have made about the link. One, an ophthalmologist at Lenox Hill Hospital, had the nerve to say it doesn’t matter all that much, as we’re all going to get cataracts anyway!

Can you believe it? But then, statin drugs are probably the best thing to come down the pike for eye surgeons in a long time. Even doctors are talking about it! A study last year in an ophthalmology journal said that the increased use of statins may be what’s behind the rising demand for cataract surgery.

Well, I’m sorry, but this is a very big deal. Especially since statins are being pushed to a younger and younger crowd all the time. Sure, compared to brain surgery, you might think a cataract operation is a walk in the park. But not every procedure goes as expected, and some people don’t get back the same vision they had before.

Plus that, cataract surgery involves a lot of drugs in the form of eye drops, particularly steroids that are linked to macular degeneration when used in that form.

But seriously, why split hairs over whether statin users should think of cataracts as being a minor inconvenience or not when all of these drugs — especially those new PCSK9 inhibitors — are as risky as they come?

The whole ball of wax was summed up neatly by the director of general cardiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in an editorial that accompanied the new study.

Dr. Brendan Everett said that what we know about PCSK9 meds is “only the beginning of our understanding of the safety” of these drugs.

Call me crazy, but it might have been a good idea to fully understand how safe — or not — these meds were before they got approved, not after.

The bottom line here is that your body needs sufficient quantities of cholesterol to function properly — and that clearly includes keeping your vision sharp. Interfering with the normal production of cholesterol can short-circuit vital epithelial cell production in the eyes, something researchers have known for ages. And when that happens, your risk of cataracts skyrockets.

Unfortunately, this vital piece of information is something that Big Pharma would much prefer you never, ever found out about.