PEOPLE’S PHARMACY

Q:My husband started on lovastatin for high cholesterol and soon began to notice weakness in his right arm. He saw his doctor, thinking he had a pinched nerve. He was referred to a neurologist, who gave him a diagnosis of "possible ALS."

On his 60th birthday, a second opinion confirmed the ALS diagnosis. My husband has since progressed from weakness in his right arm to complete loss of function in his arms, very weak leg muscles and difficulty breathing. The doctors are encouraging us to enter him into hospice care. This took only 10 months.

It really bothers me that his cholesterol was not that high -- 239. The ALS specialist has told our daughter that she should never take a statin.

Answer: During the past two years, our Web site has received more than 100 reports of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease, which causes muscle paralysis) in people taking statin-type cholesterol-lowering medicine.

The Food and Drug Administration also got a signal that ALS might be linked to statins, but when the agency analyzed data from clinical trials, it concluded that there was no association (Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, November 2008).

A new report in the journal Drug Safety (Aug. 8, 2009) suggests a connection in susceptible individuals. People who develop serious statin side effects such as memory problems or muscle aches may be at increased risk.

Q:Would taking an iron supplement ease RLS (restless legs syndrome) symptoms? I was part of a blinded study at Johns Hopkins where I either had an iron infusion or a placebo. I was "cured" for more than a year, but the study isn't finished, and they won't give me any information. I would like to know how much iron to take in pill form. Can you help me?

Answer: A placebo-controlled study found that pills with 325 mg of ferrous sulfate twice a day for three months reduced restless legs syndrome symptoms (Sleep Medicine online, Feb. 18, 2009). Another study conducted at Johns Hopkins found no benefit for RLS from intravenous iron (Sleep Medicine, February 2009).

We suggest you talk with your doctor before taking such a large dose of iron, since too much could be toxic.

Q:Is it true that gold shots work for arthritis?

Answer: Injected gold salts are an old-fashioned treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. This approach goes back more than 70 years and can be quite effective in reducing inflammation.

Oral gold (such as auranofin) is less effective. Both forms may take several months to produce improvement. Side effects of injectable gold include a serious skin rash, mouth ulcers and kidney damage. Oral gold can cause nausea, hair thinning, blood disorders and reduced appetite.

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. You can e-mail them via their Web site: http://www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.