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.

Blood pressure lowering therapy and statins continue to improve survival in patients with hypertension

Blood pressure and cholesterol lowering drugs continue to improve survival in patients with hypertension after more than a decade, according to late breaking results from the ASCOT Legacy study presented at ESC Congress 2018 and published in The Lancet.

28 Aug 2018

Study shows new options to lower heart disease risk in people with diabetes

A drug used to manage diabetes may reduce heart disease and death in people with diabetes regardless of their cholesterol levels and whether they are on a statin therapy, suggests a new analysis of the LEADER trial.

27 Aug 2018

New guidelines help decide if open heart surgery or stent is better after heart attack

New advice on the choice between open heart surgery and inserting a stent via a catheter after a heart attack is launched today.

25 Aug 2018

Statins may improve conditions of people with rare lung disease

In the first study of its kind, researchers have found that cholesterol-lowering statins may improve the conditions of people with a rare lung disease called autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. The research also suggested that two new tests could help diagnose the condition.

17 Aug 2018

Taking cholesterol-busting pills can effectively treat brutal PAP

Researchers report in Nature Communications they figured out why air sacs in the lungs clog up with a thick substance called surfactant in a brutal disease called Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis, and they show taking cholesterol-busting pills called statins can effectively treat the disease.

7 Aug 2018

Pairing online patient dashboard with 'nudges' to doctors triples statin prescribing rates

Pairing an online patient dashboard with "nudges" to doctors tripled statin prescribing rates in a clinical trial led by Penn Medicine researchers.

27 Jul 2018

Novel cellular pathway may clarify how arterial inflammation develops into atherosclerosis

Investigators have identified a new cellular pathway that may help explain how arterial inflammation develops into atherosclerosis - deposits of cholesterol, fats and other substances that create plaque, clog arteries and promote heart attacks and stroke. The findings could lead to improved therapies for atherosclerosis, a leading cause of death worldwide.

22 Jun 2018

Nutrient supplements do not provide extra benefits says new Australian survey

According to a recent nutrition survey in Australia, 29 percent of the population are taking at least one dietary supplement a day. In the United States, at least 52 percent are taking a dietary supplement a day. The study attempted to look at the long term benefits offered by regular intake of vitamin and mineral supplements for the prevention of diseases such as heart disease and stroke as well as premature death.

30 May 2018

Study discovers genetic variations that increase heart attack risk for statin patients

A Vanderbilt-led research team has discovered genetic variations that increase the risk of heart attack even when patients are receiving a statin drug like Lipitor or Crestor to lower their blood cholesterol.

10 May 2018

Common therapy options for psoriasis can help reduce coronary plaque, study shows

Late-breaking clinical science shows common therapy options for psoriasis (PSO)-a chronic inflammatory skin disease-can help reduce coronary plaque. The authors found that not only do the treatments reduce the volume of the plaque, but also the plaque becomes less inflammatory over time harboring fewer characteristics prone to rupture and cause a heart attack.

26 Apr 2018

People with high LDL cholesterol levels likely to get greater benefits from statins

Cholesterol-lowering drugs are more likely to save thousands of additional lives when used in people with higher levels of LDL cholesterol, or "bad" cholesterol, according to a new study from the University of Iowa, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

17 Apr 2018

Researchers get one step closer to creating peptide vaccine against atherosclerosis

In the disease atherosclerosis, cholesterol-containing plaques form in vessel walls, causing arteries to narrow and greatly increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

12 Apr 2018

Study finds low treatment rates for people with elevated cholesterol levels

Less than 40 percent of people with severe elevations in cholesterol are being prescribed appropriate drug treatment, according to a nationally representative study reported in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

26 Mar 2018

Statins may provide benefits to patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention

Getting a large dose of a statin did not have an impact on major adverse cardiac events among a broad population of patients slated to undergo percutaneous coronary intervention, a procedure to clear blocked arteries, in a trial being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 67th Annual Scientific Session.

12 Mar 2018

PCSK9 inhibitor reduces cardiovascular events in ACS patients with high cholesterol

Among patients with persistently high cholesterol despite high-intensity statin therapy, the proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor alirocumab reduced rates of major adverse cardiovascular events by 15 percent compared with placebo, in a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 67th Annual Scientific Session.

12 Mar 2018

Machine learning can help accurately predict clinical outcomes in patients with heart problems

Several studies being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 67th Annual Scientific Session demonstrate how the computer science technique known as machine learning can be used to accurately predict clinical outcomes in patients with known or potential heart problems.

1 Mar 2018

Psoriasis drug also effective at reducing aortic inflammation

Ustekinumab, sold under the name Stelara, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and Crohn's Disease. Researchers wanted to know if the benefits of the drug go beyond clearing the skin.

18 Feb 2018

Blood pressure and cholesterol lowering drugs do not negatively affect erectile function, study says

New study provides reassurance for men taking blood pressure and cholesterol modifying medications, reports the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

29 Jan 2018

Statins appear to reduce risk of repeated surgery in patients who undergo vitrectomy

According to a Finnish study, statin medication seems to reduce the risk of repeated surgery in patients who undergo a vitrectomy to treat a detached retina. The researchers believe that statins might prevent the formation of scar tissue inside the eye.

19 Jan 2018

Researchers uncover powerful new model for studying hallmark of vascular disease

While refining ways to grow arterial endothelial cells in the lab, a regenerative biology team at the Morgridge Institute for Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison unexpectedly unearthed a powerful new model for studying a hallmark of vascular disease.

9 Jan 2018