The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Effects of policosanol in patients with ischemic stroke

    This blog has chronicled the lipid-lowering effects of policosanol, which lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol levels by 20% to 30%. Its mechanism of action differs from statins. However, it’s close enough that for safety, I would be cautious taking policosanol and a statin at the same time. One-A-Day Cholesterol Plus contains policosanol.

    Now, a new study reports that policosanol has a positive effect on recovery in patients with ischemic stroke. This might be an overstatement, but let’s take a closer look.

    • 50 patients took policosanol 20 mg/day over 5 years following ischemic stroke
    • They also took antiplatelet drugs and vitamins
    • Patients improved throughout this time
    • One patient suffered a new stroke
    • Two suffered more than one transient ischemic attack
    • Policosanol lowered cholesterol levels, and this response correlated with neurological improvement

    Unfortunately, it’s not possible in this study to separate the beneficial effects of the antiplatelet drug (aspirin) from any effect by policosanol.

    OK, let’s say it one time in unison. “More studies are needed to assess the usefulness of policosanol in stroke management.”

    9/29/06 22:59 JR

    Comments are closed.