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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.
Ongoing clinical study to evaluate benefits of high-dose simvastatin for patients with SAH

Ongoing clinical study to evaluate benefits of high-dose simvastatin for patients with SAH

Can treatment with high doses of a cholesterol-lowering statin drug improve outcomes for patients with stroke caused by rupture and bleeding of brain aneurysms? An ongoing clinical trial will soon find out, according to an article in the May issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. [More]
Study: Air and noise pollution may increase risk of cardiovascular disease

Study: Air and noise pollution may increase risk of cardiovascular disease

Both fine-particle air pollution and noise pollution may increase a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to German researchers who have conducted a large population study, in which both factors were considered simultaneously. [More]
Genetic markers improve detection of individuals with high risk for CHD

Genetic markers improve detection of individuals with high risk for CHD

The study comprised over 24,000 Finnish subjects and was led by Professor Samuli Ripatti. The results revealed that a panel of 28 genetic markers improved detection of individuals with high risk for coronary heart disease (10-year risk ≥20%) over traditional risk factors. [More]
Simvastatin hinders positive effects of exercise for obese adults, say researchers

Simvastatin hinders positive effects of exercise for obese adults, say researchers

Statins, the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide, are often suggested to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease in individuals with obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of medical disorders including excess body fat and/or high levels of blood pressure, blood sugar and/or cholesterol. [More]
Researchers identify clue to explain the reversible memory loss caused by statins

Researchers identify clue to explain the reversible memory loss caused by statins

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and physicians continue to document that some patients experience fuzzy thinking and memory loss while taking statins, a class of global top-selling cholesterol-lowering drugs. [More]
Men who take statins are less likely to die from prostate cancer, study finds

Men who take statins are less likely to die from prostate cancer, study finds

Men with prostate cancer who take cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins are significantly less likely to die from their cancer than men who don't take such medication, according to study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. [More]
Coenzyme Q10 offsets cellular changes that are linked to side-effect of some statin drugs: Study

Coenzyme Q10 offsets cellular changes that are linked to side-effect of some statin drugs: Study

A laboratory study has shown for the first time that coenzyme Q10 offsets the cellular changes that are linked to a side-effect of some statin drugs - an increased risk of adult-onset diabetes. [More]
Modifiable lifestyle factors may prevent progression of Barrett's-related esophageal cancer

Modifiable lifestyle factors may prevent progression of Barrett's-related esophageal cancer

An estimated 20 million Americans have chronic heartburn. About 2 million of these people have Barrett's esophagus, a precancerous condition that affects the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. [More]
High-dose rosuvastatin reduces acute kidney injury caused by imaging dye in ACS patients

High-dose rosuvastatin reduces acute kidney injury caused by imaging dye in ACS patients

High doses of a popular cholesterol-lowering drug significantly reduced the rate of acute kidney injury caused by dye used in imaging in acute coronary syndrome patients who underwent a coronary procedure, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session. [More]
Addition of niacin to statin does not improve HDL function

Addition of niacin to statin does not improve HDL function

While two large clinical trials recently showed that adding niacin to statin therapy failed to improve clinical outcomes despite a significant increase in HDL-C levels, little is known about exactly why the increased HDL-C levels did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke. [More]

Pitavastatin may reduce risk of heart attack, stroke and death in patients with high cholesterol

Heart patients who can't tolerate the side effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs may have a new option, according to a new study by researchers from the Intermountain Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City. [More]

NCI-sponsored study to evaluate rosuvastatin for prevention of colon cancer

With March designated as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, the North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute is enrolling people who were recently treated for colon cancer in a polyp prevention study. This National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored study evaluates the cholesterol drug, rosuvastatin (Crestor), as a treatment to reduce the risk of colon cancer. [More]
Drugs that combat ageing may be available within five years

Drugs that combat ageing may be available within five years

Drugs that combat ageing may be available within five years, following landmark work led by an Australian researcher. [More]

TV ads may drive over-diagnosis of high cholesterol and over-treatment with statins

Television advertising may drive over-diagnosis of high cholesterol and over-treatment with statins, according to a new study¹ by Dr. Jeff Niederdeppe from Cornell University in the US and colleagues. It appears that a trip to the doctor enquiring about statins advertised on TV often leads to a prescription. [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]
More people meeting recommended goals in three key markers of diabetes control

More people meeting recommended goals in three key markers of diabetes control

More people are meeting recommended goals in the three key markers of diabetes control, according to a study conducted and funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [More]
LPA genetic variant increases risk of heart valve calcification

LPA genetic variant increases risk of heart valve calcification

Researchers have found a genetic variant that doubles the likelihood that people will have calcium deposits on their aortic valve. Such calcification, if it becomes severe, can cause narrowing or a blockage of the aortic valve, a condition called aortic stenosis. [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]

Esperion reports positive results from ETC-1002 Phase 2 clinical trial on type 2 diabetes

Esperion Therapeutics, the leading developer of small molecule therapies for the treatment of cardiometabolic disorders, today announced positive results of a recently completed Phase 2 clinical trial of ETC-1002 in patients with type 2 diabetes with LDL-C lowering of up to 43% compared to placebo. [More]
Industry sponsored drug and device studies: an interview with Professor Lisa Bero

Industry sponsored drug and device studies: an interview with Professor Lisa Bero

Our review included analyses of drug and device studies conducted in humans. The drugs or devices could be compared to placebo or sham treatments, or other effective treatments. The drugs and devices examined for this review are used for a wide variety of clinical conditions, including cardiovascular and psychiatric diseases. [More]