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74 Comments
- legacy5k, on 10/07/2008, -0/+11"The polypill is aimed at reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke in poor and rich countries alike."
Hmm, I'm not sure how much the poor countries will care, seeing how heart disease is only so highly prevalent in developed countries where you have a means to eat yourself to death. - inactive, on 10/07/2008, -2/+12WARNING: NOT FOR WOMEN WHO ARE PREGNANT, WANT TO BECOME PREGNANT OR HAVE IN THE PAST BEEN PREGNANT. SIDE EFFECTS INCLUDE EXPLOSIVE DIARRHEA, 3 CARD MONTE GAMBLING & THE INABILITY TO VOTE REPUBLICAN.
- inactive, on 10/07/2008, -0/+9So pop 2 of these and I will see if you call me in the morning...
- RevAradia, on 10/07/2008, -0/+6My Father has had 5 heart attacks. Am I nervous? You bet! I hope this pill is real and that it comes out relatively soon..before my Pop has another heart failure...and before I do. So Sayeth the Crone
- inactive, on 10/07/2008, -2/+8Just a note to write down: Drug companies will NEVER come out with any drug to actually "cure" anything or stop anything. It is not in their business interests to do so. I think "Dead or taking our drugs" is their motto
- newms32, on 10/07/2008, -0/+5This is aspirin plus other drugs that have been proven to work even better. What's your point?
- Tarnum, on 10/07/2008, -2/+7"INABILITY TO VOTE REPUBLICAN"
IQ-increasing drug? - LBWayward, on 10/07/2008, -0/+4What about a single cheap diet combining a range of plant based foods that protect against heart disease and stroke?
I've heard that that's effective. - dartmanx, on 10/07/2008, -0/+4Can they pack a decent diet and a bit of exercise into a pill?
- inactive, on 10/07/2008, -1/+5I've noticed plenty of pills CAUSING or WORSENING the very condition they were made to treat.
- ambion, on 10/07/2008, -1/+4"INABILITY TO VOTE REPUBLICAN"
It's worth it. - ks136, on 10/07/2008, -0/+3I agree. A "miracle pill" would be wonderful, but this sounds dangerous.
- NovaPrime9, on 10/07/2008, -1/+4His point is that he didn't read the article.
- schnikies79, on 10/07/2008, -0/+3It makes the news damn-near every day. They are always studies coming out that say exactly what depro9 just said.
No one listens because they don't like the message. - mattycoze, on 10/07/2008, -0/+3I don't see what the hype is about, it's unlikely that the data's going to prove anything significant over the current medicines prescribed in multi-drug therapies... These cardiovascular therapies for people suffering from hypertension and atherosclerosis are useless without actually making some lifestyle changes.
Most of these therapies are not the magic bullet in the fight against CHD, rather fact they are mitigating symptoms of more deep rooted disorders, take for instance "metabolic diseases". Under many circumstances, once the patient is taken off these medications, the symptoms reappear.
Pharmacologically speaking, the future of cardiovascular medicines will be looking at harnessing the mechanisms that derive such phenominons as myocardial pre- and post- ischemic conditioning. It follows a great deal of current research observing an ability of the heart to recover more effectively following an ischemic episode such as a heart attack or coronary embolism. - Fhwqhgads, on 10/07/2008, -0/+2"They don't like the message."
Good point.
Everyone wants a magic pill so they don't have to put any effort into anything in their life.. - Sueblimely, on 10/07/2008, -0/+2If there is a genetic component, which raises the risks of heart disease, healthy lifestyles or natural therapies are not always enough to prevent it and drug treatment (in lieu of gene therapy to cure it) is vital.
- Auricfield, on 10/07/2008, -0/+2Once again it's the 'promise' of health with no effort that will sell this pill.
- priegog, on 10/07/2008, -0/+2Ok, you better fact-check some things, because all this rethoric proves nothing.
Fact: The number one cause of death in developed nations are heart related diseases.
Fact: A GREAT majority (probably much more than 80%) of heart diseases are caused by atherosclerosis and other such problems very much related with obesity.
Fact: The great majority of what you call "genetic heart diseases" (which I suppose means family-related heart diseases) are ALSO caused by atherosclerosis, either caused by obesity (which is very much inherited), deficient enzymes, or hormones, or what have you.
Fact: A HEALTHY heart will almost never (I dont' like to use the word "never" when it comes to medicine, because it COULD happen, it's just that it is almost impossibly unlikely) fail under "stress". So your "stress related cardiac arrest" either doesn't exist, or just means that it happened in an already sick heart, and would have happened later at another time if not for the stressful event.
So what is it exactly that you're babbling about? first off, the plural of "anectode" is not "data". But let's run with it. What do you mean your GGfather, Gfather, and father were "physically fit"? Would you care to guesstimate their BMI? I'm not saying it's not somewhat caused by genetics, just that the mechanism is nothing totally out of your control (unless of course you all inherited one of the very rare geneti diseases that would cause totally uncontrollable heart failure at an early age, like say, some mithocondrial disease). The diet thing can also be very ambiguous. How many red meat rations do you (or have your ancesters) eat per week? How much % of the calories you eat constitutes calories from fat? How many calories do you eat per day? I'd be willing to bet I eat healthier than you do, and I don't even have family heart history to worry about (or maybe that's the reason?). If I had a dime every time a patient says he "eats well" and then is proven very, very wrong upon further interrogation, I'd have a few bucks (and that's just because I'm just starting my medicine carreer).
One final note: That workout you do 3x a week, does it consist on aerobic exercises, or just warming up for 10 minutes on the threadmill and then weighlifting? I tought so.
Granted, I'm coming off as an ass on this post, making lots of assumptions. But this time I tried. And I don't think I'm making many mistakes.
It's unbelievable how you can just suggest there's something wrong with US's society, and so you are buried into oblivion...
Just my 2 euro cents
edit: legacy5k beat me to it, in 2 sentences. - legacy5k, on 10/07/2008, -0/+2If he was eating fresh vegetables and fruits regularly, that's great... but if he was eating cholesterol laden meat or milk and cheese with every meal, as most Americans do, that is not great.
- Albumen, on 10/07/2008, -0/+2Pump without blood in it? How can you tell that? Does it make a scraping sound?
- atact88, on 10/07/2008, -0/+2Actually, considering that by the time a drug goes to market, there's only 3 years left on the patent (out of 14 years total for chemical / medical patents), I'd say the pharmaceutical company has as much incentive to make cures as well as treatments. Three years later, there'll be super cheap generics manufactured by everybody and their mother, and there'll be no market advantage.
BTW, the human body is not a computer, and does not work like the internet. There are no instant fixes. When something goes wrong, you can't just reformat and reboot and everything's better. Some things just can't be cured. Like cardiac damage... - mattycoze, on 10/07/2008, -0/+2Not so sure about the breast cancer vaccine, but I know here in Australia, Gardisil was approved in 2007 to prevent human papiloma virus to stop cervical cancer has already been approved and distributed. I'll tell you this though; the research money did NOT come from drug companies to begin with. Ian Fraser from UQ spent years trying to get the Australian Medican Research foundation (publically and government funded) - the pharmaceutical companies only came to the party when they had results and saw the fat profit margin they could get for buying out the patent.
Personal recounts about antibiotics is one thing, but the statistics still say that antibiotic resistance STILL occurs. - Nintendesert, on 10/07/2008, -0/+2Must not worry you too much since you're posting about it on Digg instead of actually seeing a doctor.
- inactive, on 10/07/2008, -0/+2Dude, I know exactly what you mean. When your local hospital is practically a damned BAND-AID STATION full of know-nothings then you're about *****.
- depro9, on 10/07/2008, -0/+2Meat free is the way to be.
- Halsfield, on 10/07/2008, -0/+2unless you have genetic heart problems. that diet can definitely ease symptoms and related problems
- sq2shooter, on 10/07/2008, -1/+3Fail. A cure for the cold would be a cash cow. It's not like people wouldn't get colds again and come right back to the cure every time. See what happens when you don't think your conspiracy theory all the way through? Do you really think pharma companies should take on projects that will only lose them money? If so, please tell us what your company does and how they take on bad business decisions just for the good of mankind.
- sq2shooter, on 10/07/2008, -0/+2This pill is not a miracle drug. It is only a pill that combines a number of drugs already on the market. So at best, this would only save your dad a little coin.
- ambion, on 10/07/2008, -0/+2The drugs contained in these pills aim to reduce the _risk_ of heart and circulatory disease. They are not cures. Preventative medicine is an efficient way to cut down on healthcare costs.
Even if it was a cure: if it works, why not? There's plenty of conditions which used to be serious ailments but became trivial with the right medication being discovered. Bacterial infections for example used to be horrible, painful deaths before antibiotics.
It's science bitches! - Fhwqhgads, on 10/07/2008, -1/+2Wonder why you don't hear common sense like that in the news? No pharmaceutical sales.
- mattycoze, on 10/07/2008, -0/+1the data was already there, this would be the drug companies capitalising on what drugs they've already got not intending to pursue further research and development in the field of CHD therapies.
- roostersheep, on 01/16/2009, -0/+1No, but I can feel it. I can't really explain what I feel, but I know something's wrong. It just feels as though it has either skipped a beat, or didn't pump any blood round. I don't know, should see a doctor really.
I don't drink any coffee. - drunkenoaf, on 11/13/2008, -0/+1My point is aspirin is inappropriate for some cardiovascular conditions. These people tend to get clopidogrel.
- FLMarijuana, on 10/07/2008, -1/+2A medical establishment focused on treatment of symptoms rather than prevention of the cause, is doomed to failure. Unless of course, you are the one selling the treatment.
- inactive, on 10/07/2008, -0/+1There's gonna be a heartache tonight, a heartache tonight, I know!
- legacy5k, on 10/07/2008, -0/+1It's not expensive to live on McDonald's in the United States... our meat production is heavily subsidized by tax money and fast food is embedded in our infrastructure. That's precisely why we have these epidemics.
Try getting a quarter pounder with cheese in a poor African country. - ATH025, on 10/07/2008, -0/+1Too much caffeine.
- drunkenoaf, on 10/07/2008, -1/+2The whole scientific and medical community care. They care how they're designed, what they're assessing, how they're assessing it. It's how flaws are spotted... and lives saved.
- vgunmanga, on 10/07/2008, -1/+2I think the majority of customers will be larged-assed, bacon cheesbuger eating, couch jockeys. I'm sure "your" glands or predisposition to being a fatass are the problem, but in reality this is a drug that is meant to make money of the general population of butterballs. diet and excercise will benefit most people more than any drug, except weed.
- buckrogers1965, on 10/09/2008, -0/+1So these pills force people to eat well and exercise? Because isn't that the only way to prevent heart disease?
- tjefferson85, on 10/08/2008, -0/+1My family has a history of heart related problems, hopefully they test this drug more and it can tackle these problems head on.
- vgunmanga, on 10/08/2008, -0/+1that's not really my point, read the comment again, I said the "majority of people". I'm saying there is a lot more money to be made of the average population than marketing to the few people with real health issues. I'm sure this drug will be a benefit to many people who otherwise would suffer, but the real purpose of any pharmaceutical is to make money of the general population. As for weed, unless you are a heavy smoker, there are no permanent side effects, all things in moderation, good luck with your heart problems
- atact88, on 10/07/2008, -0/+1$1 for a month's supply? Can you say made in China?
- Halsfield, on 10/07/2008, -1/+2ever hear of stress related cardiac arrest ? Genetic heart disease ? Its not just fat bastards that die of heart attacks. My great grandfather died of a heart attack in his sleep, my grandfather died of a heart attack while tending his garden on a rather hot day, and my dad has had 2 mild heart attacks and is barely 55. Every last one of them has been physically fit, ate well(not a lot of sodium , lots of fresh veggies , fruits, as vegetable gardens have been part of a tradition in our family), and still will probably die of a heart attack.
I am already feeling the effects of genetic heart problems and im only 23 and i work out 3x a week and eat as best as i can. - vgunmanga, on 10/08/2008, -0/+1 this drug is for fat people, plain and simple. I'm not saying your problems are self induced, but on this continent most problems are. You should try to relax, you might bust a valve, haha.
- slapthemonkey, on 10/07/2008, -0/+1Hope it works
- wertach, on 10/07/2008, -0/+1Too many beers?
- Halsfield, on 10/07/2008, -1/+2penicillin ? vaccines ? get real.
- alvarezg, on 10/07/2008, -1/+2You can be sure it won't be cheap in the US.
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