Causal agent symptoms and conditions

I recently lost my brother Marty to ALS. Marty asked me to tell everyone about his experience and I promised I would. Marty began taking statin drugs in his early 40's. He took them off and on at the suggestion of his PCP. It began with Lipitor and progressed to Crestor. In Dec of 06 tests revealed elevated muscle enzymes, he was also having pain in his left leg. His PCP called and told him to discontinue the Crestor, which he did. The pain continued and other symptoms began to materialize. Symptoms included muscle weakness, toe drop, fasciculations and continued pain in his leg. In June 07 after many tests he received the diagnosis of ALS. He passed away in August 08 at age 52. He believed as I do that statins caused this most horrible disease in him. He also believed that cholesterol is a symptom not the causal agent of heart disease. Now you must decide.

I am currently 58 years old and lead a very active, healthy lifestyle. I began taking 10mg of Zocor, along with 1000mg of niacin in the summer of 2004 to reduce cholesterol (251) and triglycerides (571). The therapy dramatically improved my blood tests, however, within 6 weeks, I began to experience minor chronic skin infections, both fungal and bacterial. They were easily controlled with topical over the counter type medications, but they were annoying. At no time was this new condition linked to the statin/niacin therapy by my doctor(s). The infections became progressively worse over the next 3 years, and evolved into chronic folliculitis in my scalp, neck, and face, cystic acne, and persistent fungal infections that were becoming more difficult to control. In addition, I began to get chronic eye infections. It was as if my immune system was becoming ineffective. I stopped taking niacin in December of 2007 and the symptoms immediately lessened. I stopped taking Zocor in March of 2008 and within 2 weeks, all the skin problems and eye infections completely ended. My health was restored completely and I am glad to have put that whole mess behind me! I have been taking Omega 3 supplements to control my cholesterol and triglycerides and have had results that equaled the Zocor and Niacin therapy, with cholesterol at 160, triglycerides at 91, and a favorable HDL/LDL ratio. My physician is skeptical, but I know that my body was not functioning correctly with the statin/niacin treatment. I have found anecdotal reports from others who seem to have experienced a change in their immune system, but no mention of this as a side effect by the medical establishment.