Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) News and Research

RSS

Levels of PLTP enzyme in blood should be a consideration for potential statin treatment

In a patient study of over 1,000 individuals with coronary artery disease (CAD), researchers have found that high levels of an enzyme called PLTP significantly increased the risk of heart attack in the subset of patients taking statins.

23 Mar 2009

Drug pactimibe does not appear to reduce progression of atherosclerosis

Compared to placebo, the drug pactimibe did not effect certain measures of atherosclerosis for patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol levels), but these patients did have an increased incidence of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke, according to a study in the March 18 issue of JAMA.

17 Mar 2009

Metabolic and neurological disorders may share common risk factors

Metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes appear to share risk factors with and may influence the development of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, according to several reports published in the March issue of Archives of Neurology.

10 Mar 2009

Diabetes and elevated levels of cholesterol linked to faster cognitive decline in Alzheimer's patients

A history of diabetes and elevated levels of cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol, are associated with faster cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study from Columbia University Medical Center researchers.

10 Mar 2009

Diabetes and elevated levels of cholesterol linked to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's

10 Mar 2009

Diet moderately high in protein may be best for fat loss

Any diet will do? Not if you want to lose fat instead of muscle. Not if you want to lower your triglyceride levels so you'll be less likely to develop diabetes and heart disease. Not if you want to avoid cravings that tempt you to cheat on your diet. And not if you want to keep the weight off long-term.

4 Mar 2009

Heart-healthy diets that reduce calorie intake promote long-term weight loss

Heart-healthy diets that reduce calorie intake - regardless of differing proportions of fat, protein, or carbohydrate - can help overweight and obese adults achieve and maintain weight loss, according to a study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, and published Feb. 26, 2009, in the New England Journal of Medicine.

26 Feb 2009

Comparison of popular diets

Many popular diets emphasize either carbohydrate, protein or fat as the best way to lose weight.

25 Feb 2009

Statins may lessen brain function

Research by an Iowa State University scientist suggests that cholesterol-reducing drugs known as statins may lessen brain function.

23 Feb 2009

VAP cholesterol test helps find link between a rare gene mutation and heart protection

Using the VAP Cholesterol Test from Atherotech, Inc., University of Maryland researchers have found an association between a rare gene mutation and heart protection.

17 Feb 2009

Continuation of statin treatment associated with lower risk of death

Patients with high cholesterol levels who continually take statins appear to have a lower risk of death over four to five years, regardless of whether they already have diagnosed heart disease, according to a report in the February 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Feb 2009

What's the most common long-term complication of diabetes?

What's the most common long-term complication of diabetes? Problems with the heart and blood vessels, according to the February issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource.

5 Feb 2009

New imaging technique catches arthritis early

You come into a doctor's office with severe knee pain. The physician orders an MRI, which reveals substantial loss of cartilage - osteoarthritis, that is - in your knee joint. At this point, not much can be done beyond gulping down palliatives and trying to keep your weight off the joint. But the damage may have started building as much as 20 years earlier, possibly due to a traumatic injury to the affected joint.

29 Jan 2009

Numerical analysis estimates numbers of older US adults who may benefit from statin therapy

Researchers estimate more than 11 million older Americans may be newly eligible for statin therapy if findings from a recently published large clinical trial are adopted into clinical practice guidelines, according to a new analysis of the trial data.

13 Jan 2009

New insight and intervention ideas to help reduce the number of heart attacks

A new national study has shown that nearly 75 percent of patients hospitalized for a heart attack had cholesterol levels that would indicate they were not at high risk for a cardiovascular event, according to current national cholesterol guidelines.

12 Jan 2009

An explanation of how statins cause low rates of muscle symptoms

In the January 2009 issue of the American Journal of Medicine , Florida Atlantic University researcher Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., the first Sir Richard Doll Research Professor in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science and a renowned expert who has revealed numerous causal, therapeutic and preventive factors in the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), most notably low-dose aspirin, explains why statins cause low rates of muscle symptoms.

9 Jan 2009

Well balanced diet improves blood glucose tolerance and blood lipid levels

A study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association ( JAMA ) on 16 December 2008 has found that those with type 2 diabetes who had a diet high in low-glycemic foods such as nuts, beans and lentils had greater improvement in glycemic control and risk factors for coronary heart disease than those on a diet with an emphasis on high-cereal fibre.

21 Dec 2008

Low-glycemic foods better for glycemic control than high-fiber

Persons with type 2 diabetes who had a diet high in low-glycemic foods such as nuts, beans and lentils had greater improvement in glycemic control and risk factors for coronary heart disease than persons on a diet with an emphasis on high-cereal fiber, according to a study in the December 17 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

16 Dec 2008

Single letter in the human genome points to risk for high cholesterol

Write out every letter in the human genome, one A, C, T or G per millimeter, and the text would be 1,800 miles long, roughly the distance from New York to Colorado.

16 Dec 2008

Receptor for prostaglandin-E2 plays key role in atherosclerosis development

Atherosclerosis - a disease that includes the buildup of fatty, cholesterol-laden lumps of cells inside the artery wall - is the underlying cause of heart attacks and strokes.

15 Dec 2008