Dramatic JUPITER Findings Fail to Sway Prescribing Behavior, ...( Results reveal most respondents again...),Health

Results reveal most respondents against expanding statin use broadly in wake of AHA-presented data

LITTLE FALLS, N.J., Nov. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- JUPITER, a clinical trial suggesting rosuvastatin may lower the cardiovascular risk of healthy patients with elevated CRP, should not prompt universal statin use in older adults, according to a national poll directed at health professionals. Some 1,212 participants took part in the online poll conducted by medical news site MedPage Today LLC (www.MedPageToday.com).

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081125/NY48420 )

While the news coming out of the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions on JUPITER was dramatic, respondents voted 60% to 40% against automatically prescribing statins in patients 60+ without elevated cholesterol.

"Our poll shows that healthcare professionals may not be so quick to change their Crestor or statin prescribing habits based on the results presented at AHA," said Robert Stern, President and CEO of MedPage Today. "The JUPITER results have created a debate between clinical data and the implications for real-world medical practice."

Whether the indication for Crestor should be expanded dramatically to include healthy patients became a major question after the JUPITER findings were presented at AHA and then published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In the clinical trial, 20 mg of rosuvastatin (Crestor) taken daily for just under two years reduced median LDL cholesterol to 55 mg/dL, down from a median of 108 mg/dL, and median hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein), a test measuring inflammation, by 37%. The corresponding reduction in the rate of heart attack, stroke, bypass su
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