Don’t be fooled by this risky cholesterol med

A drug that can zap your cholesterol numbers down to the basement has gone from sad sack to superstar practically overnight.

Experts in the drug world were calling the injectable med Praluent a “pharmaceutical flop” due to poor sales, and that’s despite the fact that it was supposed to be a brand-new blockbuster type of cholesterol med that’s like a statin on steroids.

Now, however, it looks as though this cow pie of a drug may be transformed into a cash cow.

Regeneron (the company that makes Praluent) recently tallied up the results from a big trial called ODYSSEY. The study pitted the med against a placebo to see if it could reduce heart attacks, stroke, or chest pain.

Needless to say, the drugmaker is calling the research a success beyond its wildest dreams… and it’s calling Praluent a “lifesaver.”

But there’s a lot more to this story than you’re going to hear from the media or even your doctor. Because the very way Praluent works is literally a prescription for disaster.

How low can you go?

Pharma-sponsored trials are like a game of “he said, she said.”

ODYSSEY, for example, turned up merely a smidgen of a benefit where heart attacks and strokes are concerned. Translate those results to Pharma-speak, however, and that benefit was extraordinary!

So good, in fact, that George Yancopoulos, the head honcho at Regeneron and co-inventor of Praluent, shook his finger at the mean insurance companies that won’t fork over $14K a year for his med, saying that it’s “almost a crime” to deny this cholesterol drug to patients.

But the real crime here is what Praluent can do to your body – especially your brain.

Of all the nutrients and compounds that keep your brain working well, one of the most important is cholesterol. The brain even has its own in-house “factory” for manufacturing it!

And while you might think that would protect it from sabotage by cholesterol-lowering meds, unfortunately, that’s not the case.

Scientists have known for some time that cholesterol-lowering drugs can actually cross the protective “wall” called the blood-brain barrier and harm the brain’s ability to make this necessary compound.

And the idea that PCSK9 inhibitors like Praluent (as well as a similar drug called Repatha) can do a number on your ability to think and remember has been haunting these meds since the get-go. Even before the drugs were approved by the FDA, the two drugmakers received a warning letter from the agency saying that it’s aware of “neurocognitive adverse events” from PCSK9 meds.

You won’t be hearing much about the adverse effects that came out of ODYSSEY. One Regeneron-connected cardiologist is even claiming that there were absolutely no side effects at all: “None.”

But other accounts tell a different story.

Adverse reactions such as muscle pain, “neurocognitive events” (specified as memory troubles), eye problems, and liver damage were reported. And over 7 percent of the study participants dropped out due to side effects!

And as you’ve read right here in the eAlert, pumping yourself full of Praluent can be catastrophic in other ways as well, with adverse effects ranging from depression and anxiety to cancer and stroke. That’s because cholesterol is not only mandatory in order for your brain to function normally, but it’s required for numerous other processes in your body – including producing vitamin D and hormones such as testosterone and estrogen.

And since these PCSK9 drugs can bring cholesterol down to unheard-of low levels, this is entirely uncharted territory where your health is concerned.

Hopefully, these meds will continue to be priced out of reach for most patients. But should the time come when the drugmaker becomes desperate and slashes the cost — or your insurance company decides to cover them — remember, you always have the right to tell your doc one thing: “Thanks, but no thanks!”

“Opposite day: Drug may save lives, so drugmakers offer to cut price” Matthew Herper, March 10, 2018, Forbes, forbes.com