Dr finds that statins do not help diabetics and official guidelines regarding statin use should be re-examined and reformulated by experts independent from the pharmaceutical industry

This paper was published in Reviews on Recent Clinical Trials 2012 May;7(2):150-7

Study title and authors:
Is the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs for the prevention of cardiovascular complications in type 2 diabetics evidence-based? A systematic review.

de Lorgeril M, Hamazaki T, Kostucki W, Okuyama H, Pavy B, McGill AT, Rabaeus M.
Laboratoire Coeur & Nutrition, Université Joseph Fourier-CNRS, Faculté de Médecine, 38706 La Tronche, France. michel.delorgeril@ujf-grenoble.fr

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22353198

This paper systematically reviewed the results of high-quality double blind trials testing whether cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins and fibrates) reduce mortality and cardiovascular complications specifically in type two diabetics.

The review of the scientific literature found four trials, three statin and one fibrate.
(a) Statin trials:
(ai) The Collaborative Atorvastatin Diabetes Study (CARDS) trial was discontinued 2 years before the anticipated end and in the absence of significant effect on both overall and cardiovascular mortality, suggesting that the trial should not have been prematurely stopped.
(aii) The Deutsche Diabetes Dialyse Studie (4D) trial showed no significant effect on heart attack, stoke or cardiovascular and overall death rates.
(aiii) The Atorvastatin Study for Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease Endpoints in Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (ASPEN) trial showed no significant effect in nonfatal heart attacks, nonfatal stroke, coronary artery bypass surgery, resuscitated cardiac arrest, worsening or unstable angina requiring hospitalization or cardiovascular and overall death rates.
(b) Fibrate trial: The Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes (FIELD) trial showed no significant effect on coronary heart disease death, non-fatal heart attack or death rates.

Dr de Lorgeril concluded: "This review does not support the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs (such as statin and fibrate) to reduce mortality and cardiovascular complications in type two diabetics. Official guidelines should be re-examined and reformulated by experts independent from the pharmaceutical industry".