March 12, 2009

• UAB doctors to debate statin use

• Bittner against Heudebert

• Noon, April 8 at Spain Aud.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Statins, the new wonder drug.  Or, maybe not. Cholesterol-lowering statins are among the most prescribed medications in the world and the suggestion has been made that just about everybody ought to take them. There's no doubt they work to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke in high risk populations. But the debate continues on the advisability of widespread statin use by a more general population.

Two UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) physicians will join the fray when they face off in the second UAB Great Debate.  Sponsored by the UAB Lung Health Center, the statin debate will feature Vera Bittner, M.D., professor of medicine in the division of cardiovascular disease, arguing for expanded statin use, against Gustavo Heudebert, M.D., professor of medicine in the division of internal medicine, who will defend the position of those who call for restraint.

The debate will be at noon on April 8, in Spain Auditorium.

The inaugural Great Debate was held in 2008, when Mark Dransfield, M.D., and Robert Cerfolio, M.D., squared off over the benefits of lung cancer screening. The success of that event spurred the continuation of the series.

"It seems to me that the best opportunity to learn about controversial issues is to hear people on each side of the issue defend their position," said William Bailey, M.D., professor of pulmonary, allergy and critical care medicine who organized the Great Debate. "Statins are one of the more controversial issues in medicine today and the Great Debate creates a unique environment for physicians to learn together."

Researchers are probing whether statins also may be helpful for conditions such as COPD, inflammation, dementia, cancer, cataracts and hypertension.