What does history teach us about the controversy over cholesterol? Plus: we look at the zombie myth that soccer players are dying from the COVID-19 vaccine, and we dissect a new clinical trial of colonoscopies that reports disappointing results and compare it to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s enthusiasm for the procedure itself!

 

Block 1:

(1:50) Cholesterol: conflicting animal studies at the beginning of the 1900s

 

Block 2:

(9:28) Cholesterol: observational studies of high-fat diets in humans, randomized trials on low-animal-fat diets, drug trials

 

Block 3:

(27:19) Soccer players kicking the bucket? Not so much

 

Block 4:

(37:47) Colonoscopies: screening recommendations, alternatives to colonoscopies, latest trial

 

 

* Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl.

* Assistant researcher: Nicholas Koziris

 

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References:

 

Anybody interested in an in-depth review of the history of cholesterol research can read the series of articles by Daniel Steinberg published in the Journal of Lipid Research

 

• Steinberg, Daniel Thematic review series: the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. An interpretive history of the cholesterol controversy: part 1. J Lipid Res. 2004 Sep;45(9):1583-93. doi: 10.1194/jlr.R400003-JLR200.
• Steinberg D. Thematic review series: the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. An interpretive history of the cholesterol controversy: part 2: the early evidence linking hypercholesterolemia to coronary disease in humans. J Lipid Res. 2005 Feb;46(2):179-90. doi: 10.1194/jlr.R400012-JLR200. 
• Steinberg D. Thematic review series: the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis: an interpretive history of the cholesterol controversy, part 3: mechanistically defining the role of hyperlipidemia. J Lipid Res. 2005 Oct;46(10):2037-51. DOI: 10.1194/jlr.R500010-JLR200
• Steinberg D. The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. An interpretive history of the cholesterol controversy, part 4: the 1984 coronary primary prevention trial ends it--almost. J Lipid Res. 2006 Jan;47(1):1-14. doi: 10.1194/jlr.R500014-JLR200.
• Steinberg D. Thematic review series: the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. An interpretive history of the cholesterol controversy, part V: the discovery of the statins and the end of the controversy. J Lipid Res. 2006 Jul;47(7):1339-51. doi: 10.1194/jlr.R600009-JLR200.

 

Some specific references:

 

The Seven Countries study is a source of particular controversy:

A review of the Seven Countries Study controversy

http://www.epi.umn.edu/cvdepi/multimedia/critiques-of-the-seven-countries-study-and-ancel-keys/

 

And a paper written by several researchers trying to dispel some of the myths surrounding it

https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/38/42/3119/4600167?login=false

 

 

Cochrane review of statins to prevent dementia

https://www.cochrane.org/CD003160/DEMENTIA_statins-prevention-dementia

 

The video of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sXkIUZEWIo

 

The trial of colonoscopies: https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa2208375

 

Vinay Prasad’s commentary: https://sensiblemed.substack.com/p/screening-colonoscopy-misses-the

 

New England Journal of Medicine accompanying editorial: https://www-nejm-org.proxy3.library.mcgill.ca/doi/pdf/10.1056%2FNEJMe2211595

 

 

 

Time machine:

 

1) Our episode on infertility: https://bodyofevidence.ca/062-infertility-and-rna-vaccines

 

2) Our interview on ivermectin: https://bodyofevidence.ca/interview-jack-lawrence-and-gid-m-k-on-ivermectin

 

 

Music Credits:

Dramatic Trailer by Rafael Krux

Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/5633-dramatic-trailer

License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Artist website: https://www.orchestralis.net/