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.

Current food labeling leads to under-consumption of calcium

Those who were taught how to translate the information consumed more. Researchers believe the same is true for other beneficial nutrients.

8 Oct 2007

New findings on cholesterol metabolism in the brain and Alzheimer's disease

Although the causes of Alzheimer's disease are not completely understood, amyloid-beta (A-beta) is widely considered a likely culprit - the "sticky" protein clumps into plaques thought to harm brain cells.

4 Oct 2007

Spouses often mirror each other's health habits

If one spouse exercises, quits smoking, stops drinking alcohol, receives a flu shot, or undergoes a cholesterol screening, the other spouse is more likely to do the same, according to a new study in Health Services Research.

4 Oct 2007

Linking two molecular pieces may offer new approaches to treating Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have uncovered a biological link between the protein whose mutation causes early-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) and a gene variant linked to late-onset AD.

4 Oct 2007

Cholesterol levels both high and low linked to premature births

A new study suggests that not only is a very low level of cholesterol a danger to pregnant women, but high cholesterol too increases the risk of premature birth.

3 Oct 2007

Low levels of good cholesterol risk for heart disease

According to the latest research reducing the amount of "bad cholesterol" (LDL - low density lipoprotein cholesterol) in the blood is incidental if the proper amount of "good cholesterol" (HDL - high density lipoprotein cholesterol) is not present.

3 Oct 2007

Low maternal cholesterol levels may lead to adverse birth outcomes

Pregnant women who have very low cholesterol may face a greater risk of delivering their babies prematurely than women with more moderate cholesterol levels, a team led by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), reported today.

2 Oct 2007

Hearts are experts at self-preservation

Bristol researchers have identified a heart protection mechanism in mice that surgeons and cardiologists may be able to exploit to improve treatments for patients in future.

1 Oct 2007

Non-invasive imaging test could help prevent heart attacks

Kathy Brown says she always thought that heart disease was for those who smoked cigarettes, drank, ate a lot of red meat, and who were overweight.

1 Oct 2007

Ostructive sleep apnea and continuous positive airway pressure

Researchers in Brazil have found that treating patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) dramatically reduces early indications of atherosclerosis in just months, linking OSA directly to the hardening or narrowing of the arteries.

29 Sep 2007

High blood pressure may be due to excess weight in half of overweight adults

As many as 50 percent of overweight men and women with high blood pressure may have hypertension as a result of being overweight, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 61st Annual Fall Conference of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research.

29 Sep 2007

Wine, beer and spirits all equal when it comes to breast cancer

Barcelona, Spain: One of the largest individual studies of the effects of alcohol on the risk of breast cancer has concluded that it makes no difference whether a woman drinks wine, beer or spirits (liquor) – it is the alcohol itself (ethyl alcohol) and the quantity consumed that is likely to trigger the onset of cancer.

27 Sep 2007

36 million Americans have never checked their cholesterol

Despite the much publicized link between cholesterol and heart disease, one in six Americans age 20 and older – almost 36 million people – have never had their cholesterol levels checked, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

27 Sep 2007

New guidelines for cardiac testing and treatments

People with heart disease should take special precautions before undergoing any kind of surgery, even noncardiac surgery, to reduce their risk of a cardiac event, according to new joint guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

27 Sep 2007

Many patients with diabetes say burden of care rivals complications of disease

Many patients with diabetes say that the inconvenience and discomfort of constant therapeutic vigilance, particularly multiple daily insulin injections, has as much impact on their quality of life as the burden of intermediate complications, researchers from the University of Chicago report in the October 2007 issue of Diabetes Care.

27 Sep 2007

Call for food industry to phase trans fats out of their products

Experts on nutrition and public health are calling on leaders in the food industry to speed up the elimination of industrially produced trans fatty acids from the foods they produce and distribute, and to become partners in promoting healthy diets throughout the Americas.

27 Sep 2007

Potential new weight-loss wonder drug

More than 60 percent of American women are overweight, with nearly a third falling into the category of obese and at greater risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

27 Sep 2007

Coca-Cola accused of flase claims on Fuze drinks

To hear Coca-Cola tell it, the tea and fruit drinks it sells under its Fuze brand will help you avoid cancer, heart disease, colds, flu, and infections of the lungs and kidneys.

27 Sep 2007

All alcohol consumption linked to breast cancer risk

One of the largest individual studies of the effects of alcohol on the risk of breast cancer shows that it makes no difference whether a woman drinks wine, beer or spirits (liquor).

27 Sep 2007

OTC statin treatment could help stem the cardiovascular disease epidemic

Making statin treatment available without a prescription could help the fight against heart disease, says Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Heart and Director of the Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute and the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Cardiovascular Health at The Mount Sinai Medical Center.

26 Sep 2007