The medical “business model” in a nutshell

In an eight-year study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, high levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO) were closely associated with the early development of heart disease. MPO is a protein secreted by white cells. It signals inflammation and releases a bleach-like substance that damages the cardiovascular system. Its predictive abilities were independent of classic risk factors such as high cholesterol, high pressure and diabetes.

“A high MPO reading now indicates that the physician should concentrate on reducing known risk factors, but MPO itself could eventually become a target of treatment, according to Dr. Stanley L. Hazen, head of the section of preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic.”

How absurd is this??

Why will the marker be the target of the treatment? Why would a healer merely try to fix the symptom? The profit model involved here is quite clear. Find a “quantifiable” symptom. Create a chemical that controls the level of the symptom. Sell the chemical. Make money.

Why can’t we focus on the the cause of the high MPO in the first place?

This is really no different from the cholesterol-statin profitability dynamic. “High cholesterol levels are correlated to cardiac problems. Ergo, control the numbers by giving the patient a cholesterol lowering substance .” Why not just attack the root cause of the high cholesterol itself — i.e., a faulty diet and a lifestyle of sustained overconsumption and imbalance?