It would great if, just once, coverage about clinical trials focused on the unpredictability of science and the inherent difficulty of designing "real world" studies of the effect of drugs that produce desired results, particularly a measurable reversal in biochemistry that contributes to death.
That will not happen with Vytorin, except in the breach. To be sure the original:" these findings plus future biologic and clinical evidence could confirm that the benefits of lowering LDL cholesterol may depend not only on "how low you go" but also on "how you get there."
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMe0801608
This is a point that Eric Topol has been making since the first wave of ENHANCE data was released. See Eric's video on his blog:
http://blogs.theheart.org/posts/temple-of-the-ldl-cholesterol
In the end, Vytorin use will fall but for the wrong reasons. Absent information about "how to get there" before prescribing, LDL treatment will still be hit or miss. That's all the ENHANCE study showed. We know that reducing LDL is important but we still lack targeted treatments.
That will not happen with Vytorin, except in the breach. To be sure the original:" these findings plus future biologic and clinical evidence could confirm that the benefits of lowering LDL cholesterol may depend not only on "how low you go" but also on "how you get there."
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMe0801608
This is a point that Eric Topol has been making since the first wave of ENHANCE data was released. See Eric's video on his blog:
http://blogs.theheart.org/posts/temple-of-the-ldl-cholesterol
In the end, Vytorin use will fall but for the wrong reasons. Absent information about "how to get there" before prescribing, LDL treatment will still be hit or miss. That's all the ENHANCE study showed. We know that reducing LDL is important but we still lack targeted treatments.
