NIacin by itself does not have a bad record at all.
It is clear that some statins had a terrible record of reducing death by all causes. Baycol, an early statin was associated with increased deaths, and was pulled from the market. It was responsible for 45% of deaths associated with statins at one time.
It is possible that injury to the kidney during the trials of the combination caused an increase in blood pressure, causing the strokes associated with the niaspan-simvastatin trial. It was unwise of the researchers to do the trial, as it is well known that combining niacin and statin drugs increases one's chances of rhabdomyolisis. It is not known for sure if taking COQ10, which was once part of the patent of lovastatin, will reduce one's chances of rhabdomyolisis and kidney or liver damage signficantly. It is a wise idea however if taking a statin to include COQ10 as part of the therapy. One of the major problems with statin drugs is that they reduce this major liver enzyme, causing accelerated muscle wasting and possible kidney damage. This can happen with any statin drug, making statin drugs, despite their effect on the arteries which appears to be beneficial, to be a monumentally bad way to combat heart disease. Safer over the counter alternatives exist. Namely Hawthorne, Niacin, Pantethine, inositol hexancotinate, and any combination thereof. Doctors by the way, do prescribe COQ10 or ubiquinone to counteract rhabdomyolisis when it develops. nejm.org  Why they don't use it as a preventative measure when taking statins is beyond me.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
"On examination, her muscles were tender and very weak. Her urine was brown, cloudy, and strongly positive for heme. Treatment with itraconazole, lovastatin, and niacin was stopped immediately, and treatment with 210 mg of oral ubiquinone (coenzyme Q) daily was begun. Ubiquinone has been reported to ameliorate the toxic effects of lovastatin. "
...
"A diagnosis of drug-induced rhabdomyolysis and hepatotoxicity was made. Over the next 18 days, the elevated serum enzyme values gradually returned to normal, and the symptoms disappeared; ubiquinone was then stopped. The patient's plasma cholesterol level, which was 253 mg per deciliter while she was taking lovastatin but before the itraconazole therapy, was 193 mg per deciliter while she was taking both lovastatin and itraconazole, and it gradually rose to 465 mg per deciliter after both drugs were discontinued. Niacin therapy (3 g daily) was started again 11 weeks later, without evidence of toxicity."
The statins in circulation now are:
Drug Trade Name
Lovastatin Mevacor
Pravastatin Pravachol
Simvastatin Zocor
Fluvastatin Lescol
Atorvastatin Lipitor
"What Are The Conditions Caused By Baycol? - Baycol and rhabdomyolysis
The name for the condition thought of as Baycol muscle pain is called Rhabdomyolysis. It is a condition where injury is caused to the kidney by the toxic effects of the content of muscle cells. In looking at Baycol and Rhabdomyolisys, these Baycol muscle pain side effects occur in one in 10,000 people. Baycol is not the only cause of the disorder. Any problems that may cause damage to skeletal muscle tissue, particularly trauma, may possibly affect the kidney as it attempts to remove the toxic content from the blood. The muscle tissue blocking up the kidney, preventing it from functioning correctly, causes the damage. The problem with Baycol and the way that Baycol causes muscle damage is that it causes muscle myoglobin tissue to break down. The kidney itself is effectively a filter, and so other harmful substances are able to remain in the bloodstream as the kidney filters the myoglobin. Thus, the kidney becomes less efficient as it suffers damage from the obstructing muscle tissue. Thus far, 50 deaths have been attributed to Baycol and Rhabdomyolysis allegedly causing the above described problems with Baycol."
"The actual problem with Baycol muscle damage is that in addition to performing its prescribed task of blocking a specific enzyme, it also affects other parts of the body in a harmful capacity. The main location of bodily problems with Baycol and the cause of Baycol muscle damage was in the muscle tissue itself. Something that escaped the research capacity of Bayer was the discovery that Baycol forced parts of the muscle tissue to break away from their normal location in the body and become a part of the bloodstream. The main problem is that Myglobin, a pigment found in this muscle, ends up in the bloodstream and must be filtered by the kidney. The body knows that the myoglobin is harmful, and in the same way as it attempts to remove other harmful substances, the kidney tries to filter it. However, the Myglobin can effectively ‘block’ the kidney, causing damage. This is where Baycol and Rhabdomyolysis disease become connected, as Rhabdomyolysis is defined as a disorder involving injury to the kidney caused by toxic effects of the contents of muscle cells.
monheit.com
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