World-Class Innovation, but at What Cost? A Brief Examination of the American Healthcare System.

The American healthcare system, often counted among the world's best, offers expedient access to a highly subspecialized network of physicians who work at the forefront of developing and utilizing novel, cutting-edge procedures, and medications. Patients typically have access to large numbers of qualified physicians in every metropolitan area and thus are afforded the luxury of individual choice in hospital, physician, and experience. Unfortunately, the costs of maintaining such a system are quite profound, and the higher investments do not pay dividends in health outcomes.

Current and Emerging Uses of Statins in Clinical Therapeutics: A Review.

Statins, a class of cholesterol-lowering medications that inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, are commonly administered to treat atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Statin use may expand considerably given its potential for treating an array of cholesterol-independent diseases. However, the lack of conclusive evidence supporting these emerging therapeutic uses of statins brings to the fore a number of unanswered questions including uncertainties regarding patient-to-patient variability in response to statins, the most appropriate statin to be used for the desired effect, and the efficacy of statins in treating cholesterol-independent diseases.