Statin News and Research

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Statins are drugs used to lower cholesterol. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly. But if you have too much in your blood, it can stick to the walls of your arteries, narrowing or even blocking them.

Supplements do not reduce cancer risk

Most experts agree that supplements add little, if anything, to a well-balanced diet.

2 Nov 2007

Alzheimer's may progress more rapidly in people with high blood pressure or atrial fibrillation

While current medications for Alzheimer's disease are effective for some patients in slowing the rate of AD progression, many patients do not benefit from the treatments or cannot tolerate them, says lead researcher Michelle M. Mielke, Ph.D., of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

31 Oct 2007

Do statins make radiation more effective at curing prostate cancer?

Patients with prostate cancer who receive high-dose radiation treatment and also take statin drugs commonly used to lower cholesterol have a 10 percent higher chance of being cured of their cancer at 10 years after diagnosis (76 percent), compared to those who don't take these medications (66 percent), according to a study presented at a scientific session October 31, 2007, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 49th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

29 Oct 2007

Children who are obese or who are at risk for obesity show early signs of heart disease

Childhood obesity in the United States is an epidemic -- nationwide, 19 percent of children ages 6 to 11 and 17 percent of those 12 to 19 are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Those who are overweight during childhood also have an increased risk of obesity in adulthood and are at greater risk for complications such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, because obesity increases total blood volume, which leads to extra stress on the heart.

18 Oct 2007

Statins appear to preserve lung function

Statins are known to be good for lowering cholesterol and maybe even fighting dementia, and now they have another reported benefit: they appear to slow decline in lung function in the elderly - even in those who smoke.

15 Oct 2007

Statins cut heart attacks by more than a quarter

A study into the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs has found they reduce heart attacks by more than 25 per cent.

12 Oct 2007

Benefits of statin drugs continue for years

Scientists in the UK have found that the benefits to the heart from taking statin drugs may last for years and are sustained even after the drugs are stopped.

11 Oct 2007

High blood levels of C-reactive protein may be linked to increased risk of age-related macular degeneration

High blood levels of C-reactive protein, a substance linked to inflammation, appear to be associated with an increased risk for age-related macular degeneration, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Oct 2007

New findings on cholesterol metabolism in the brain and Alzheimer's disease

Although the causes of Alzheimer's disease are not completely understood, amyloid-beta (A-beta) is widely considered a likely culprit - the "sticky" protein clumps into plaques thought to harm brain cells.

4 Oct 2007

Low levels of good cholesterol risk for heart disease

According to the latest research reducing the amount of "bad cholesterol" (LDL - low density lipoprotein cholesterol) in the blood is incidental if the proper amount of "good cholesterol" (HDL - high density lipoprotein cholesterol) is not present.

3 Oct 2007

New guidelines for cardiac testing and treatments

People with heart disease should take special precautions before undergoing any kind of surgery, even noncardiac surgery, to reduce their risk of a cardiac event, according to new joint guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

27 Sep 2007

OTC statin treatment could help stem the cardiovascular disease epidemic

Making statin treatment available without a prescription could help the fight against heart disease, says Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Heart and Director of the Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute and the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Cardiovascular Health at The Mount Sinai Medical Center.

26 Sep 2007

Bad habits and lifestyle put heart disease victims at twice the risk of colon cancer

Researchers in Hong Kong have found that patients newly diagnosed with coronary artery disease had almost twice the prevalence of colorectal tumors and cancers; they say this was more so among those who had smoked or had metabolic syndrome.

25 Sep 2007

Diet and medications may assist prevention of prostate cancer

Recent investigations of medications, diet and the molecular understanding of prostate cancer are defining potential prevention strategies for the disease, and herald a new stage in the management of this cancer, according to a new review.

25 Sep 2007

Past clinical trials of vitamin E fatally flawed

Generations of studies on vitamin E may be largely meaningless, scientists say, because new research has demonstrated that the levels of this micronutrient necessary to reduce oxidative stress are far higher than those that have been commonly used in clinical trials.

24 Sep 2007

Research to shed new light on how statins benefit heart patients

A scientist at Leeds whose research is challenging conventional thinking on how the cholesterol-reducing drugs statins benefit cardiac patients, has secured funding to further investigate her findings.

24 Sep 2007

Breakthrough in cardiovascular research

Cholesterol contributes to atherosclerosis - a condition that greatly increases the risk of heart attack and stroke - by suppressing the activity of a key protein that protects the heart and blood vessels, researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have found.

18 Sep 2007

Study looks at Atorvastatin and cholesterol

Scientists report in the October issue of the Journal of Lipid Research new details about how a drug used against heart disease helps to unclog blood vessels from an excess of cholesterol and fats.

18 Sep 2007

Screening all babies for high cholesterol could save many lives

Doctors in the UK say in order to reduce the number of people suffering from heart disease children as young as 15 months should be screened for high cholesterol.

17 Sep 2007

Novel angiogenic drugs could revolutionize treatment of peripheral arterial disease

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that the market entry of novel angiogenic agents, including a future blockbuster drug from Genzyme, could revolutionize symptomatic treatment of peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

12 Sep 2007