A new study has led to what is perhaps the most ridiculous recommendation for flu treatment ever -- which is saying something, considering how dangerous and ineffective current treatments like flu vaccines are already. Some are claiming that the research suggests that statin drugs, already taken by millions to lower cholesterol, might be beneficial for patients hospitalized with severe cases of influenza.
What the research actually found was that patients given antiviral medications were twice as likely to die as those given statins. Of course, what this really probably means is that the antiviral medications were particularly deadly, not that statins were beneficial.
According to CBS news, not everyone is buying these supposed results, and even the study’s own authors are cautious:
"’At this point, statins should not become the standard of care for people hospitalized with the flu,’ [said] study co-author Dr. Ann Thomas ... ‘At the end of the day, I'm not convinced that statins are protective,’ against influenza, [said] Dr. Jeffrey C. Kwong, a researcher with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Science in Toronto”.