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.

Impotence may provide a warning sign of coronary heart disease

Erectile dysfunction may provide a warning sign of significant coronary heart disease researchers from the University of Chicago report in the January 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

23 Jan 2006

New method to find new metabolites

Ever since penicillin, a byproduct of a fungal mold, was discovered in 1929, scientists have scrutinized fungi for other breakthrough drugs. As reported Jan. 20 in the Journal of Chemistry and Biology, a team led by a University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher has developed a new method that may speed the ongoing quest for medically useful compounds in fungi.

23 Jan 2006

Workplace stress plays is an important risk factor for heart disease and diabetes

Stress at work is an important risk factor for the development of heart disease and diabetes, finds a study published online by the British Medical Journal.

23 Jan 2006

Metabolic syndrome - a new risk factor for impaired kidney function

A three-year multi-center study of kidney-pancreas transplant recipients has identified a new risk factor for impaired kidney function, which may help physicians refine their treatment strategies.

23 Jan 2006

New study gives insight into the dairy and weight loss link

A new clinical trial published today in Obesity Research (the journal of NAASO, the Obesity Society) provides more insight into why consuming dairy foods is linked to weight and fat loss.

18 Jan 2006

Bexarotene shows promise in cancer treatment.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis now report that a compound related to vitamin A shows promise in preventing or slowing tumor growth in mice prone to lung cancer. The compound, called bexarotene, doesn't cause the severe skin irritations that have limited the use of other vitamin A derivatives in cancer therapies.

18 Jan 2006

Obesity in middle age raises heart disease and diabetes risk

Obesity in middle age - even without established cardiovascular disease risk factors such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels - greatly increases risk of hospitalization for and death from heart disease and diabetes in older age, according to a study in the Jan. 11 issue of the JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association.

10 Jan 2006

Study finds short-term lifestyle changes improve health even without major weight loss

Obese and overweight individuals suffering metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes showed significant health improvements after only three weeks of diet and moderate exercise even though the participants remained overweight.

10 Jan 2006

Coronary artery disease patients consistently fail to take life saving drugs

Nearly half the coronary artery disease (CAD) patients in a seven-year study admitted they don’t consistently take beta blockers, cholesterol-lowering drugs and other medications that could extend their lives, researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

10 Jan 2006

Statins not associated with reduced colorectal cancer risk

Use of cholesterol reducing drugs is not associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

8 Jan 2006

Myelin breakdown appears to be key contributor to Alzheimer disease later in life

A new UCLA imaging study shows that age-related breakdown of myelin, the fatty insulation coating the brain's internal wiring, correlates strongly with the presence of a key genetic risk factor for Alzheimer disease.

8 Jan 2006

Statins do not appear to reduce the incidence of cancer

The cholesterol-lowering medications called statins do not appear to reduce the incidence of cancer or cancer deaths, according to a meta-analysis of previous studies in the January 4 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

6 Jan 2006

Gulf War Syndrome more prevalent in first Persian Gulf War veterans

Comparing veterans deployed in the first Persian Gulf War and veterans deployed elsewhere at the same time has revealed veterans who served in the Persian Gulf have nearly twice the prevalence of chronic multi-symptom illness (CMI), a cluster of symptoms similar to a set of conditions often called Gulf War Syndrome.

5 Jan 2006

Breakdown of myelin linked to genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease

2 Jan 2006

Heart disease risk higher if a brother or sister has heart problems

According to a new report having a brother or sister with a cardiovascular disease poses a greater risk than having a parent with a history of the disease.

28 Dec 2005

One in three U.S. teens at risk of heart disease

According to researchers in the U.S. as many as one in three American teens are physically unfit and already have many of the risk factors for heart disease.

22 Dec 2005

Canada's first prescription drug atlas maps billions in spending

Researchers at the University of British Columbia Centre for Health Services and Policy Research have developed a comprehensive portrait of pharmaceutical spending in Canada -- more than $20 billion by the end of 2005 -- and assembled the results into a first-of-its-kind atlas.

15 Dec 2005