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No. There was a drug released that targeted that pathway, but the approval in and of itself was a scandal - I spoke with a pharmacist last night who said people at her hospital were disgusted by the FDA’s decision. It was removed from the market two weeks later. There was basically no evidence of efficacy.

FDA approves stuff all the time that has no efficacy

Not in the face of such overwhelming evidence; it’s literally their job to make sure things are effective. It turns out medical studies are weaker evidence than anyone would like, but here there was quite compelling evidence that it was useless!

There are several controlled studies that show phenylephrine does absolutely nothing better than placebo for congestion, yet it's the #1 medication sold and available in the US for congestion.

> that plaque was still considered the primary cause.

Plaque has never been proven to be the primary cause of decline, it's just associated with it.

Did it demonstrate plaque as cause, or effect (that gets cleaned up with meds)?