Roger's story

Roger tells us about his experience with statins and the need for clear information about whether statins cause muscle symptoms.

What do the trial team think about StatinWISE?

Liam Smeeth, Chief Investigator

"StatinWISE will answer a really important question: whether the muscular aches and pains that lots of people have are actually caused by statins. One of the exciting things about the project is the way it brings together individual patient care with research. As well as giving an answer for every individual patient – allowing them to make an informed choice about their future treatment -  by pooling the results from all participants we will be able to answer a question of great relevance to millions of people worldwide."

Haleema Shakur-Still, Trial Director

"StatinWISE is an important trial for me personally. We know that statins can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. My husband takes statins for high cholesterol and had suffered muscle pains while taking statins. We don't know if his pain was caused by statins or not. So the answer to this trial question, as to whether statins causes muscle symptoms or not, is important for us. Also, this trial is designed in a special way. It will allow participants to really know for themselves if their muscle symptoms are due to statins or not. I am really looking forward to working with GPs, research nurses and participants so that we can get an answer to this important question."

Kieran Brack, Senior Trials Manager

I am the Trial Manager for the StatinWISE trial. Whilst I have only been at the Clinical Trials Unit since June 2017, a number of things impress me about StatinWISE. Firstly, the trial design is very much focused on individual patients and is beautifully simple for both research sites and for patients. Patients will not only receive personalised results that will genuinely help them make a well-informed choice about future statin use, but when it comes to data collection – every patient has a variety of options to report their pain scores that minimises the burden on patients. Secondly, a professional, wonderfully supportive and a friendly bunch of people are working on StatinWISE, from all 58 research sites to the team in the office! StatinWISE is a great combination of innovative study design and supportive team members.

 

Danielle Beaumont, Senior Trials Manager

"I am Danielle Beaumont, a Senior Trials Manager working at the Clinical Trials Unit (CTU).  I have been working on StatinWISE helping with the trial set up to get recruitment started, and I will be involved in supporting the ongoing day-to-day management of the trial alongside my colleagues at the CTU. The exciting thing for me with this trial is its design; each patient in the trial is acting as their own control, and so StatinWISE will give answers to each individual patient about their muscle pain and whether this is caused by statins."

Collette Barrow, Trial Administrator

"Having worked with the CTU for a number of years I am very excited to be involved with the StatinWISE trial - investigating side effects of a condition that affects a large proportion of people.  Unlike other trials we do here there is the opportunity to have direct contact with GP surgery staff and patients across the country.  It’s great to know I do a job which could make a huge difference to the quality of life for so many people!"

Tjeerd van Staa, Trial Management Team

"I am involved as a collaborator and have been advising on the design and analysis of the study. One of my interests as researcher is to make randomised trials simpler to conduct and with more engagement of patients. StatinWISE is an unique trial and also help to show that we can have simple trials."

Danielle Prowse, Assistant Data Manager

"StatinWISE is a great trial to work on as you know that its results will be relevant to such a large number of people. My own father has recently started taking statins and I know he is particularly interested in seeing the final results! In fact, we are all bound to know somebody who is currently taking statins and who will be affected by the outcome of the trial and so this is why it is so important we all work together to answer this research question!

I have been involved in the design and development of the trial database and the mobile phone app – both of which are available for patients to enter their symptoms questionnaires. We are proud to offer this so data collection can be on the go and as easy as possible for all patients. I am also excited to work with GP practices, Research Nurses and the patients themselves in the day to day data collection."

 

Andrew Thayne, Data Assistant

Statins are an important treatment for a large number of people throughout the UK – my father has been taking statins for some time now. He has been fortunate enough to not experience any problems while taking them, but I know others have not. This is why the StatinWISE trial is so important to see the extent to which statins actually cause pain and side effects, so patients can get the benefits of taking statins, knowing that they will not be causing them any harm.
Working as Data Assistant on the StatinWISE trial, I get to have direct contact with patients, which is unlike other clinical trials. This allows for a greater depth of knowledge as to patients’ experiences while on the trial medication and for both the team and the patients to know that the trial will result in a benefit for the wider population.

 

Emily Herrett, Trial Management Team

"StatinWISE has a wonderful team from across the UK and it's a pleasure to work with them.  I've seen so many stories in the news about the side effects of statins and heard stories from friends about their experiences, so I can't wait to see the trial results - I really don't know what we'll find."

 

 

Elizabeth Williamson, Trial Statistician

As a statistician, StatinWISE is a very exciting trial to work on, because of its unusual design. Unlike most trials, participants in StatinWISE can find out about how statins affect them personally. The trial is addressing an important question which affects a lot of people, so I’m really pleased to be involved. I’m excited to see the final results!