There's now this article from Reuter's that suggests that not only are COX-2 drugs (Vioxx and Bextra primarily) bad for people with heart disease, but a study shows that young women who take COX-2 drugs for a long time, then stop, at some point years down the road, they'll develop heart disease.
Tests on mice suggest COX-2 inhibitors might be especially dangerous to younger
women, who are normally protected by biology from heart disease.
The research, published in Friday's issue of the journal Science, also
supports the theory that there could be a "class effect," meaning that all
brands of COX-2 inhibitors could raise the risk of heart disease.
"I believe the evidence is very strong that we have a class effect to deal with
here," said Dr. Garret FitzGerald, a cardiologist and pharmacologist at the
University of Pennsylvania who led the study.
His team found that a fatty acid made by the cyclooxygenase-2, or COX-2, enzyme protects female mice from hardening of the arteries. Shutting down COX-2 long term may actually kick-start the process, known as atherosclerosis, FitzGerald said in a telephone interview.
"This raises the specter that if we treat long enough, you are going to have some problems with these people," he said.
Okay, then...how young is young? Twenties? Thirties? Women my age? Maybe that info is contained in the Science article itself, but they've only tested it on mice, so how do they know how it will affect humans unless they test on humans? Or is this just a well thought out theory?
I've taken Bextra, but only for a short period of time. I've taken its sister drug, Celebrex, sporadically since I've been in Oklahoma. But, which is worse, the pain I have now due to RA and FMS, or heart disease I might have in 10, 20, 30 years down the road?
Or never.
I just don't know what to think.
--MorelaterZ--
