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.

Low dose birth control pill raises heart attack risk, especially in some women

A new review suggests that low-dose birth control pills, which are generally considered to be safer than the pill of the past, still carries an increased risk for heart attack and stroke.

11 Jul 2005

Fat in the bloodstream linked to heart attacks

New research, by Dr. Sotirios Tsimikas of the University of California, San Diego, has produced the first convincing evidence that a type of fat in the bloodstream can trigger the earliest conditions that lead to clogged blood vessels, the highest cause of heart attacks.

7 Jul 2005

Point-of-selection nutrition information cards can spur students to pick the right foods

Mystery meat not withstanding, high school cafeterias can provide nutritional, balanced and healthful meals, but students have to choose correctly.

6 Jul 2005

Vitamin E supplements do not protect healthy women against heart attacks and stroke

Vitamin E supplements do not protect healthy women against heart attacks and stroke, according to new results from the Women's Health Study, a long-term clinical trial of the effect of vitamin E and aspirin on both the prevention of cardiovascular disease and of cancer.

5 Jul 2005

University of Michigan receives $10m grant for Alzheimer's research

Alzheimer’s disease research at the University of Michigan is getting a $10 million boost: a major grant that will fund a broad array of efforts aimed at finding and fighting the causes of the disease and other memory conditions.

1 Jul 2005

How can the U.S. health-care system prepare for the huge wave of dementia patients expected by 2010?

How can the U.S. health-care system and more specifically, primary care doctors - the physicians from whom older adults receive most of their care - prepare for the huge wave of dementia patients expected to engulf us in 2010, the year the baby boomers begin to reach 65?

27 Jun 2005

Metabasis and Merck collaborate to develop new treatment for diabetes, hyperlipidemia and obesity

Metabasis Therapeutics and Merck announced today that they have formed a collaboration to research, develop and commercialize novel small molecule therapeutics with potential to treat several diseases, including type II diabetes, hyperlipidemia and obesity, by activation of an enzyme in the liver called AMP-activated Protein Kinase (AMPK).

27 Jun 2005

British doctors question guidelines on blood pressure and cholesterol levels

A new study suggests that the thresholds for "normal" blood pressure and cholesterol levels have been set so low healthy people might be put on unnecessary medication.

27 Jun 2005

Unknown factors make Scots people more prone to heart disease

The findings, which are published in the current edition of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, conclude that although successful campaigns to get Scots to live a healthier lifestyle will reduce rates of heart disease in Scotland, they will not do much to narrow the gap in heart disease rates between Scotland and England.

26 Jun 2005

Insulin resistance drug with anti-inflammatory effects reduces risk factors

A drug, which reduces insulin resistance and also may have anti-inflammatory and other effects on blood vessels, lowered cardiovascular risk factors in patients with diabetes more than another diabetes medicine, even though both drugs improved blood sugar control equally, according to a new study (PDF) in the June 21, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

21 Jun 2005

Elevated C-reactive protein can foil diet's ability to lower cholesterol

If you have high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker in blood for inflammation that is strongly associated with heart disease, trying to lower your LDL-cholesterol through modest diet changes alone may not work.

20 Jun 2005

First blood test to help predict a patient's risk for ischemic stroke

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first blood test designed to help predict a patient's risk for ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke and one of the nation's leading causes of long-term disability affecting approximately 700,000 people per year.

19 Jun 2005

Acute coronary syndrome patients at increased risk of stroke

Patients hospitalized with chest pain or heart attack symptoms are at an increased risk of stroke even after being discharged, according to a study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

15 Jun 2005

Two common gene variations are associated with the risk for developing chronic kidney disease

Two common gene variations are associated with the risk for developing chronic kidney disease, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions. One variant increases risk and the other decreases risk with a similar effect in whites, African-Americans, diabetic and non-diabetic individuals.

14 Jun 2005

New study supporting the importance of aggressive cholesterol-lowering

New clinical data shows that intensive cholesterol-lowering to targets below currently recommended levels significantly reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke for people with diabetes and heart disease.

14 Jun 2005

Teen-age boys with type 1 diabetes showed evidence of greater atherosclerosis

Youths with type 1 diabetes, especially boys, already show early signs of cardiovascular disease by their teen-age years, according to researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

13 Jun 2005

Rimonabant study shows significant improvements in HbA1c and cardiometabolic risk factors in people with type 2 diabetes

The reported results of a one-year phase III study in 1045 people with type 2 diabetes treated with rimonabant, the first in a new class of therapeutic agents called selective CB1 Blockers, were that rimonabant 20 mg significantly improved HbA1c (a measure of blood sugar control), dyslipidemia (abnormal levels of fat in the blood), and systolic blood pressure with a concomitant substantial reduction in abdominal obesity in people with type 2 diabetes treated with oral anti-diabetic medications and requiring further control.

12 Jun 2005

Muraglitazar lowers blood glucose and helps dyslipidemia seen in diabetes

A novel compound provides long-term lowering of blood glucose levels and improves plasma lipids (fats) that are often a problem in people with type 2 diabetes -- all in a once-daily pill, according to a report presented today at the American Diabetes Association's 65th Annual Scientific Sessions.

12 Jun 2005

Patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes should be screened for retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy has been found in nearly 8 percent of pre-diabetic participants in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), according to a report presented today at the American Diabetes Association's 65th Annual Scientific Sessions.

12 Jun 2005

Study raises questions about food products meant to block cholesterol absorption

Plant sterols, which are naturally found in many foods but are also added to some foods intended to inhibit cholesterol absorption, are present in artery plaques, according to a new study (PDF) in the June 7, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

9 Jun 2005

Cholesterol News and Research

Further Reading

Low dose birth control pill raises heart attack risk, especially in some women

Fat in the bloodstream linked to heart attacks

Point-of-selection nutrition information cards can spur students to pick the right foods

Vitamin E supplements do not protect healthy women against heart attacks and stroke

University of Michigan receives $10m grant for Alzheimer's research

How can the U.S. health-care system prepare for the huge wave of dementia patients expected by 2010?

Metabasis and Merck collaborate to develop new treatment for diabetes, hyperlipidemia and obesity

British doctors question guidelines on blood pressure and cholesterol levels

Unknown factors make Scots people more prone to heart disease

Insulin resistance drug with anti-inflammatory effects reduces risk factors

Elevated C-reactive protein can foil diet's ability to lower cholesterol

First blood test to help predict a patient's risk for ischemic stroke

Acute coronary syndrome patients at increased risk of stroke

Two common gene variations are associated with the risk for developing chronic kidney disease

New study supporting the importance of aggressive cholesterol-lowering

Teen-age boys with type 1 diabetes showed evidence of greater atherosclerosis

Rimonabant study shows significant improvements in HbA1c and cardiometabolic risk factors in people with type 2 diabetes

Muraglitazar lowers blood glucose and helps dyslipidemia seen in diabetes

Patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes should be screened for retinopathy

Study raises questions about food products meant to block cholesterol absorption

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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