Hypercholesterolemia News and Research RSS Feed - Hypercholesterolemia News and Research

Hypercholesterolemia is a condition characterized by very high levels of cholesterol in the blood. Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that is produced in the body and obtained from foods that come from animals (particularly egg yolks, meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products). The body needs this substance to build cell membranes, make certain hormones, and produce compounds that aid in fat digestion. Too much cholesterol, however, increases a person's risk of developing heart disease.

People with hypercholesterolemia have a high risk of developing a form of heart disease called coronary artery disease. This condition occurs when excess cholesterol in the bloodstream is deposited in the walls of blood vessels, particularly in the arteries that supply blood to the heart (coronary arteries). The abnormal buildup of cholesterol forms clumps (plaque) that narrow and harden artery walls. As the clumps get bigger, they can clog the arteries and restrict the flow of blood to the heart. The buildup of plaque in coronary arteries causes a form of chest pain called angina and greatly increases a person's risk of having a heart attack.

Inherited forms of hypercholesterolemia can also cause health problems related to the buildup of excess cholesterol in other tissues. If cholesterol accumulates in tendons, it causes characteristic growths called tendon xanthomas. These growths most often affect the Achilles tendons and tendons in the hands and fingers. Yellowish cholesterol deposits under the skin of the eyelids are known as xanthelasmata. Cholesterol can also accumulate at the edges of the clear, front surface of the eye (the cornea), leading to a gray-colored ring called an arcus cornealis.
Alnylam reports pre-clinical data from ALN-AS1 program for treatment of AIP

Alnylam reports pre-clinical data from ALN-AS1 program for treatment of AIP

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has presented key pre-clinical proof-of-concept data from its RNAi therapeutic program targeting aminolevulinate synthase-1 (ALAS-1) for the treatment of porphyria including acute intermittent porphyria. [More]
FDA approves Mylan's ANDA for Fenofibrate Tablets

FDA approves Mylan's ANDA for Fenofibrate Tablets

Mylan Inc. today announced that its subsidiary Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. has shipped Fenofibrate Tablets, 48 mg and 145 mg. [More]

Sanofi, Regeneron enroll patients in two sarilumab Phase 3 trials for treatment of RA

Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the COMPARE and ASCERTAIN trials of sarilumab, the first fully human monoclonal antibody directed against the IL-6 receptor, which is delivered by subcutaneous injection every other week, have enrolled their first patients. [More]
Merck's LIPTRUZET tablets get FDA approval for treatment of elevated LDL cholesterol

Merck's LIPTRUZET tablets get FDA approval for treatment of elevated LDL cholesterol

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved LIPTRUZET (ezetimibe and atorvastatin) tablets for the treatment of elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with primary or mixed hyperlipidemia as adjunctive therapy to diet when diet alone is not enough. [More]
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals expands ophthalmology portfolio

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals expands ophthalmology portfolio

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has expanded its ophthalmology portfolio by acquiring full exclusive rights to two families of novel antibodies invented at Regeneron and previously included in Regeneron's antibody collaboration with Sanofi. [More]
Serum C-peptide levels predict cardiovascular death risk

Serum C-peptide levels predict cardiovascular death risk

Levels of C-peptide predict the risk for death from cardiovascular disease in nondiabetic adults, show data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. [More]
Investigational treatment for ALS passes early phase clinical trial for safety

Investigational treatment for ALS passes early phase clinical trial for safety

An investigational treatment for an inherited form of Lou Gehrig's disease has passed an early phase clinical trial for safety, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Massachusetts General Hospital report. [More]
Studies suggest physically demanding work is a risk factor for coronary heart disease

Studies suggest physically demanding work is a risk factor for coronary heart disease

Two studies presented at this year's EuroPRevent 2013 congress suggest that demanding physical work has a detrimental effect on an individual's risk of coronary heart disease. [More]
Alnylam begins dosing in Phase I clinical trial with ALN-TTRsc for treatment of ATTR

Alnylam begins dosing in Phase I clinical trial with ALN-TTRsc for treatment of ATTR

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has initiated dosing in its Phase I clinical trial with ALN-TTRsc, an RNAi therapeutic targeting transthyretin (TTR) for the treatment of TTR-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR). [More]

Darapladib can significantly reduce leaks in the blood brain barrier

A research team led by Robert Nagele, PhD, of the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging (NJISA) at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-School of Osteopathic Medicine, has demonstrated that the anti-atherosclerosis drug darapladib can significantly reduce leaks in the blood brain barrier. [More]
Obesity may alter sleep apnea treatment outcome

Obesity may alter sleep apnea treatment outcome

Obesity may be a factor in determining the success or failure of treatment in patients with obstructive sleep apnea, report researchers. [More]
Regeneron, Sanofi announce pooled data from Phase 1b trials with dupilumab for atopic dermatitis

Regeneron, Sanofi announce pooled data from Phase 1b trials with dupilumab for atopic dermatitis

Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that pooled data from two Phase 1b trials with dupilumab (REGN668/SAR231893), an investigational, high-affinity, subcutaneously administered, fully-human antibody targeting the alpha subunit of the interleukin 4 receptor (IL-4R alpha), were presented at the 71st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) in Miami. [More]
LDL apheresis can reduce cholesterol levels in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia

LDL apheresis can reduce cholesterol levels in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia

Some patients are genetically prone to such dangerously high levels of cholesterol that no amount of diet, exercise and medications can reduce their cholesterol to safe levels. [More]
Genetic testing strategy for familial high cholesterol questioned

Genetic testing strategy for familial high cholesterol questioned

Current testing strategies for the families of patients with familial hypercholesterolemia may not be an efficient use of health resources, suggest study results published in The Lancet. [More]
Familial Hypercholesterolaemia patients often inherit small-effect changes in several genes rather than a large-effect mutation in a single gene

Familial Hypercholesterolaemia patients often inherit small-effect changes in several genes rather than a large-effect mutation in a single gene

Research published Online First in The Lancet provides new evidence that a substantial proportion of individuals with a clinical diagnosis of Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) inherit a combination of small-effect changes in several genes (polygenic) rather than a large-effect mutation in a single gene (monogenic). [More]
Regeneron fourth quarter total revenues increase to $415 million

Regeneron fourth quarter total revenues increase to $415 million

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year 2012 and provided an update on development programs. [More]
FDA approves Genzyme’s KYNAMRO to treat homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia

FDA approves Genzyme’s KYNAMRO to treat homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia

Genzyme, a Sanofi company, and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its New Drug Application (NDA) for KYNAMROTM (mipomersen sodium) injection. [More]
Genzyme receives FDA approval for Kynamro to treat homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia

Genzyme receives FDA approval for Kynamro to treat homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Kynamro (mipomersen sodium) injection as an addition to lipid-lowering medications and diet to treat patients with a rare type of high cholesterol called homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH). [More]
Snoring may indicate future health risks

Snoring may indicate future health risks

Here's a wake-up call for snorers: Snoring may put you at a greater risk than those who are overweight, smoke or have high cholesterol to have thickening or abnormalities in the carotid artery, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. [More]
Polypill could reduce CVD and stroke in Latin Americans by up to 21% at lower cost

Polypill could reduce CVD and stroke in Latin Americans by up to 21% at lower cost

A single combination pill could reduce cardiovascular disease and stroke in Latin Americans by up to 21 percent at a cost of about $35 per quality adjusted life year gained, according to a study led by a University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health research team. [More]