Pharma Friends
A couple of weeks ago the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended that certain kids receive cholesterol screening, followed by cholesterol-lowering drugs as needed. So it’s quite possible that some young children have already been started on a daily regimen of statin drugs.
When we first heard about the AAP recommendation, one of my colleagues wondered if a third-grader who takes Ritalin might have an adverse reaction when Lipitor is added. And what if he’s blue now and then and they also have him on Prozac? And what if his medication mix causes acid reflux, so he’s also taking Nexium?
It’s pretty sad that anyone would have cause to wonder about that.
How did we get to this point where an average child might end up taking multiple drugs before he reaches high school? Plenty of reasons. But you can be sure we probably wouldn’t be here without the AAP.
Censorship patrol
Earlier this year, ABC premiered a new show titled “Eli Stone.” In the first episode, a single mom sued a drug maker for producing a vaccine she believed caused her son’s autism. A few days before the show was scheduled to air, AAP representatives wrote an open letter that encouraged ABC executives to cancel the “Eli Stone” premiere. AAP reps wrote: “”If parents watch this program and choose to deny their children immunizations, ABC will share in the responsibility for the suffering and deaths that occur as a result.”
Now, this wasn’t “60 Minutes” or some other high profile show. “Eli Stone” was a light comedy/drama that hadn’t built an audience. And yet that’s all it took to prompt the folks at AAP to throw down fire and brimstone, calling forth the specters of suffering and death.
In other words, the AAP is not what you’d call a disinterested party when it comes to pharmaceuticals. And one look at their website reveals why.
On a page that details annual corporate donations to the AAP “Friends of Children Fund,” you’ll find Merck, AstraZeneca, Sanofi Aventis, Abbott Laboratories, and other drug makers listed beside donors such as MacDonald’s and PepsiCo.
With friends like these, children don’t need enemies.
So is it just me, or is the irony getting deep in here? Too many kids guzzle soda and eat fast food (both contribute to obesity, oxidative stress and inflammation – the TRUE culprits behind narrowed arteries), while the AAP promotes the use of cholesterol- lowering drugs and ADHD drugs, some of which are made by their most generous donors.
Nutrient removal
When AAP reps released their cholesterol recommendation, they played down the fact that cholesterol-lowering drugs have not been sufficiently studied in adolescents, pre- teens and teens. In the handful of small studies that are cited, the results emphasize that the drugs were well tolerated. But in one study that followed about 132 teenage and preteen boys with a genetic inclination toward high cholesterol, the results offer this note: “Serum vitamin E levels were reduced with lovastatin treatment”
Wonderful idea, don’t you think? Take a group of boys starting out with a cholesterol problem, and then give them a drug that robs them of one of the key nutrients that supports heart health. (Lovastatin, by the way, is the generic named for Mevacor – a statin produced by Merck.)
In an Associated Press article about the recommendations, Dr. Stephen Daniels (a member of the AAP nutrition committee and the lead author of the cholesterol report) called cholesterol drugs “generally safe for children.”
That’s the best he’s got: generally safe. As long as you ignore that little vitamin E detail and all the other well-known adverse effects linked with statins. (Co-enzyme Q10 is another vital heart nutrient that’s typically deficient in statin users.)
Meanwhile, the AP notes that Dr. Daniels has done consulting work for Merck and Abbott Laboratories. But we’re told there’s no conflict there because none of that consulting had anything to do with cholesterol drugs. Well there you go! How in the world could there possibly be a conflict? (Let me know when the sarcasm reaches intolerable levels.)
The AP article finishes up with a quote from a University of California pediatrics professor: Dr. Elena Fuentes-Afflick. She states: “It’s hard for people to really understand” that childhood cholesterol problems can turn into serious health consequences in adulthood.
Dr. Fuentes-Afflick seems to be delightfully unaware that a lifetime commitment to a powerful drug, started in childhood, might lead to serious health consequences in adulthood.
Sources:
“Lipid Screening and Cardiovascular Health in Childhood” Pediatrics, Vol. 122, No. 1, July 2008, aappolicy.aappublications.org
“American Academy of Pediatrics Calls for Cancellation of ABC’s ‘Eli Stone’ Premiere” The American Academy of Pediatrics, 1/28/08, aap.org
“Efficacy and Safety of Lovastatin in Adolescent Males with Heterozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia” Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 281, No. 2, 1/13/99
“Cholesterol Drugs Recommended for Some 8-Year-Olds” Lindsey Tanner, Associated Press, 7/7/08, ap.org
