Cholesterol News and Research

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Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance made in the liver, and found in the blood and in all cells of the body. Cholesterol is important for good health and is needed for making cell walls, tissues, hormones, vitamin D, and bile acid.

Does cholesterol play a role in COVID-19?

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in May 2020 suggests that the strikingly increased mortality in COVID-19 patients who are either old or also have high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease is due to high tissue cholesterol levels. It also indicates the role of a healthy diet, by showing that polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in blood oppose the effects of cholesterol and thus the risk for severe COVID-19 symptoms.

12 May 2020

Urbanization in India may be associated with increase in cardiometabolic risk factors

Although the health benefits of green space are supported by a growing body of evidence, few studies on this topic have been carried out in low- and middle-income countries.

11 May 2020

Cholesterol lowering drugs can improve composition of gut bacteria in obese individuals

The human gut microbiota consists of trillions of bacteria, fungi and virus constituting an inner chemical factory producing a multitude of microbial compounds affecting immunity, neurobiology and metabolism of the human host.

7 May 2020

Bioactive lipids are key for diagnosis and treatment of cardiac repair after heart attack

Black men and women have higher incidences than whites of developing advanced heart failure following a heart attack.

5 May 2020

Researchers discover new gene involved in regulating the body's cholesterol

Precision medicine has the potential to tailor treatments to a patient's unique genetic sequence. But achieving this precision -- or developing new drugs -- requires knowing which genes are involved in disease.

4 May 2020

AHA calls for specialized care for pregnant women with cardiovascular conditions

Women with cardiovascular conditions should be cared for during pregnancy by a cardio-obstetrics team or health care providers experienced in high-risk pregnancies to provide specialized maternity care for the mother and fetus, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement, Cardiovascular Considerations in Caring for Pregnant Patients, published today in the Association's flagship journal Circulation.

4 May 2020

Individuals with high risk of cancer and CVD cannot be identified based on family history

Certain genetic changes, termed "pathogenic variants," substantially increase risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer--the leading causes of death--but testing to identify individual carriers is not part of current clinical practice.

4 May 2020

Free clinics try to fill gaps as COVID sweeps away job-based insurance

The 55-year-old man, who moved to Tupelo from Georgia to take care of his dying father nearly four years ago, found manufacturing work that came with health insurance.

30 Apr 2020

New study can help track the impact of climate change on honey bees

New research from the University of British Columbia and North Carolina State University could help scientists track how climate change is impacting the birds and the bees... of honey bees.

28 Apr 2020

New study indicates novel therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy

When an actor is unable to perform in the theatre, an understudy--ideally one with some practice in the role--can take her place on stage.

25 Apr 2020

Physical activity makes heart attack patients feel better

Heart attack patients who take part in a lifestyle improvement programme feel better - especially when they do additional physical activity. That's the finding of a large study presented today on ACVC Essentials 4 You, a scientific platform of the European Society of Cardiology.

24 Apr 2020

Infancy-onset dietary counseling has a positive impact on cardiovascular health

The Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project of the University of Turku, Finland, examines the benefits of promoting cardiovascular health by dietary counseling from infancy to early adulthood.

23 Apr 2020

Study raises questions about diagnoses of chronic traumatic encephalopathy

A postmortem exam of the brain remains the gold standard for diagnosing chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the neurodegenerative brain disease believed to arise from repeated hits to the head.

23 Apr 2020

Scientists identify new biomarker to detect subclinical atherosclerosis

Scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares and the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Fundación Jiménez Díaz in Madrid have demonstrated that a proteins present in early atheroma plaques--accumulations of cholesterol in the wall of arteries--could be used as a biomarker to detect atherosclerosis in the subclinical phase, before the appearance of symptoms.

21 Apr 2020