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.

CHD mortality rate in Ontario decreased by 35%: Study

From 1994 to 2005 in Ontario, Canada, there was a 35 percent decrease in the rate of deaths from coronary heart disease, with about half of this reduction associated with improvements in traditional CHD risk factors such as total cholesterol levels and systolic blood pressure, according to a study in the May 12 issue of JAMA.

12 May 2010

Many pregnant women in the U.S. have insufficient vitamin D levels: Study

Seven out of every ten pregnant women in the United States are not getting enough Vitamin D according to a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. While prenatal vitamins do raise Vitamin D levels during pregnancy, the study shows that higher doses may be needed for many women.

12 May 2010

Chocolate, coffee and red wine may not benefit the heart: Study

Heart Foundation revealed in a recent review of over 100 studies over the last decade that claims of chocolates, red wine and coffee that are supposedly loaded with antioxidants that do good to the heart are unreliable.

11 May 2010

Overtime workers at 60% higher risk of heart-related problems

Working overtime is bad for the heart according to results from a long-running study following more than 10,000 civil servants in London (UK): the Whitehall II study.

11 May 2010

China Pharma first-quarter revenue up 16% to $15.1 million

China Pharma Holdings, Inc., a leading fully-integrated specialty pharmaceuticals company in China, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

11 May 2010

Increased cholesterol levels can affect microenvironment of bone marrow

Increased cholesterol levels are being increasingly recognised as risk factors for the onset and progression of several cancers. Now researchers in Portugal show that high levels of cholesterol can affect the microenvironment of the bone marrow, so that more cells move from the bone marrow to peripheral, circulating blood.

11 May 2010

Nuts can reduce blood cholesterol levels: Study

Consuming more nuts appears to be associated with improvements in blood cholesterol levels, according to a pooled analysis of data from 25 trials reported in the May 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

11 May 2010

SNP biomarker could reduce guesswork associated with prescribing drugs

A tiny gene mutation in human liver cells could one day influence how high or low a dose patients need of about half of the clinically used drugs on the market, new research suggests.

11 May 2010

Exposure to fine particulate matter can trigger cardiovascular deaths, heart attacks

The scientific evidence linking air pollution to heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular death has "substantially strengthened," and people, particularly those at high cardiovascular risk, should limit their exposure, according to an updated American Heart Association scientific statement.

11 May 2010

Experts try to fix problem of millions who don't adhere to prescriptions

The Boston Globe: "It is a common conundrum in doctor's offices, clinics, and hospitals across the nation: patients who do not take their medication as directed. It's true for people with high cholesterol, low calcium, diabetes, and asthma. It's even true for patients with the AIDS virus and those who have received life-saving replacement organs."

11 May 2010

Nuts added to unhealthy diets can still reduce cholesterol and benefit the heart

It has been known for a while now that eating nuts regularly offers cardiovascular benefits. Now a new study has established the fact that a regular intake of nuts can lead to better and healthier cholesterol levels.

10 May 2010

Harbor BioSciences reports encouraging results from Triolex Phase IIa trials

Harbor Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, metabolic and inflammatory diseases, today released an update to its development program for Triolex to treat obesity-induced insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

10 May 2010

Iowa researcher uses new technique to verify brain's master switch

The protein that has long been suspected by scientists of being the master switch allowing brains to function has now been verified by an Iowa State University researcher.

10 May 2010

Steroids can raise cardiovascular risks in post-transplant patients

Post-transplant patients who have been removed from a corticosteroid regimen have fewer cardiovascular events than those patients on steroids, increasing their graft survival rates and reducing early mortality, according to study results being presented this week by University of Cincinnati (UC) transplantation researchers.

10 May 2010

Physical activity can reduce prevalence of metabolic syndrome, CVD risk factors

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is made up of unhealthy cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors including abdominal obesity, high levels of triglycerides, low level of HDL-cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and elevated fasting glucose level as defined by the American Heart Association/ National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (AHA/NHLBI).

10 May 2010

GP practices to get funds to employ full time nurses

There are nearly 40 percent GP practices in Australia who do not employ the services of a trained nurse. Authorities believe that there are 441,000 unnecessary hospital admissions each year only because of inability of patients to manage their chronic diseases due to lack of knowledge, or their inability to get adequate follow up care.

9 May 2010

A checklist to stay healthy at every age

Shantanu Nundy, MD, a second-year resident in internal medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center may soon find out. Driven by his mother's health questions and the difficulty of providing simple, reliable answers, Nundy collected all of the "generally accepted truths" about preventing disease, organized them into checklists based on age, and persuaded the Johns Hopkins University Press to publish them as Stay Healthy at Every Age: What Your Doctor Wants you to Know.

7 May 2010

Swedish researchers present a new principle for inhibiting atherosclerosis

A new study by researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet shows that the immune defence's T cells can attack the "bad" LDL cholesterol and thereby cause an inflammation that leads to atherosclerosis.

7 May 2010

Genzyme to initiate $2 billion stock buyback

Genzyme Corp. today announced that its Board of Directors has voted to pursue several actions to increase shareholder value. The company will initiate a $2 billion stock buyback, under which $1 billion of stock will be repurchased in the near term and financed with debt. The additional $1 billion of stock will be repurchased during the next 12 months.

7 May 2010

Doctors seeing patients in groups

The Denver Post: "Jeff Wilson saw a doctor recently about his high cholesterol — and five other patients with the same problem came to his appointment. It was a 'group visit,' a growing trend in health care that allows doctors to reach more patients and patients to get more face time with their physician, even if they have to share it."

7 May 2010