Doctors Leery Of Cholesterol Drug Vytorin After Key Study Flops

CHICAGO (AP) – A study on Vytorin suggests the popular cholesterol drug does nothing to keep plaque from clogging up arteries.

The Dutch scientist who led the study on a group of 720 people with super high cholesterol says it appears the drug does “zilch” when it comes to limiting the buildup of plaque. That, even though Vytorin dramatically lowered three key risk factors in heart disease.

Doctor Roger Blumenthal, a cardiologist and spokesman for the American Heart Association, says doctors expected at least a “glimmer of benefit” from the widely prescribed drug.

Results were presented at an American College of Cardiology conference in Chicago and published on the Internet by the New England Journal of Medicine.

Congress and state officials in New York are investigating why results were not released for nearly two years after the study ended.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) AP-NY-03-30-08 1451EDT