Statin News and Research

RSS

Statins are drugs used to lower cholesterol. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly. But if you have too much in your blood, it can stick to the walls of your arteries, narrowing or even blocking them.

Combination therapy could prevent thousands of cardiovascular deaths

The largest analysis to examine the best way to lower levels of 'bad' cholesterol in patients with blocked arteries shows that they should immediately be given a combination of a statin and another drug called ezetimibe, rather than statins alone.

24 Mar 2025

NHS could prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes with a single "polypill" strategy

The NHS could prevent thousands more heart attacks and strokes every year by offering everyone in the UK aged 50 and over a single "polypill" combining a statin and three blood pressure lowering drugs, according to academics from UCL.

5 Mar 2025

Grapefruit juice and its effects on prescription drugs

Grapefruit juice can interfere with how certain medications work by affecting drug metabolism and absorption, leading to either increased side effects or reduced effectiveness. The FDA requires warnings on some drugs due to these interactions, making it essential to check labels and consult healthcare providers.

28 Feb 2025

Higher 'bad' cholesterol levels may help Sardinia’s seniors live longer, study finds

Higher LDL cholesterol levels (≥130 mg/dL) were linked to longer survival in Sardinian nonagenarians, challenging the conventional belief that lower cholesterol is always better. However, very high cholesterol levels, particularly in women, did not show additional longevity benefits.

24 Feb 2025

Sweat fails to match blood in tracking inflammation after heart attacks

Researchers found that while sweat biomarkers remain stable, plasma biomarkers show significant inflammatory changes after a heart attack, highlighting the limitations of sweat analysis for tracking recovery.

17 Feb 2025

High cholesterol diets increase heart attack risk in U.S. veterans, study warns

Higher dietary cholesterol intake is linked to an increased risk of myocardial infarction among U.S. veterans, reinforcing the need for heart-healthy dietary choices.

10 Feb 2025

Study unlocks structural secrets of ApoB100 protein linked to heart disease

Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) - commonly known as bad cholesterol - have long been on scientists' radar as a major contributor to heart disease.

3 Feb 2025

Fluctuating cholesterol linked to higher risk of dementia in older adults

Older adults whose cholesterol changes over time may be more likely to develop dementia than people whose cholesterol is stable, regardless of the actual cholesterol level, according to a study published in the January 29, 2025, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

29 Jan 2025

PIN1 protein found to be a significant driver of bladder cancer

Like all cancers, bladder cancer develops when abnormal cells start to multiply out of control. But what if we could put a lid on their growth?

15 Jan 2025

New framework enhances genetic prediction of drug response and side effects

A UCLA study has outlined a new framework that researchers say would improve predictive power of genetics to determine how well a patient would respond to commonly prescribed medications as well as the severity of any side effects.

5 Dec 2024

Heart medication may slow the progression of Huntington's disease

Research indicates β-blockers may reduce the risk of motor diagnosis and slow symptom progression in Huntington's disease, suggesting new management approaches.

4 Dec 2024

Experts recommend cascade screening over universal lipid screening for familial hypercholesterolemia

The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) was commissioned by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) to assess the benefit of universal blood lipid screening for the early detection of familial hypercholesterolemia in children and adolescents.

21 Nov 2024

New research links sphingolipids to heart disease and atherosclerosis

Excess cholesterol is known to form artery-clogging plaques that can lead to stroke, arterial disease, heart attack, and more, making it the focus of many heart health campaigns.

19 Nov 2024

Can you rely on your mammogram to identify heart disease risk?

When people check in for their annual mammogram these days, some may face a surprising question: In addition to reviewing the mammogram for breast cancer, would the patient like the radiologist to examine the images for heart disease risk?

23 Oct 2024

New guidelines focus on preventing first strokes through healthy living

Healthy lifestyle behaviors, such as good nutrition, smoking cessation and being physically active, along with routine health screenings and managing risk factors for cardiovascular disease and stroke with medication, can help prevent individuals from having a first stroke.

21 Oct 2024

New AI approach enhances cardiovascular risk assessment

Risk calculators are used to evaluate disease risk for millions of patients, making their accuracy crucial.

24 Sep 2024

New machine learning approach boosts precision of cardiovascular risk assessments

Risk calculators are used to evaluate disease risk for millions of patients, making their accuracy crucial. But when national models are adapted for local populations, they often deteriorate, losing accuracy and interpretability.

18 Sep 2024

Statins found to be cost-effective and linked to better health outcomes in older adults

Statin treatment is cost-effective and linked to better health outcomes in older people with or without previous cardiovascular disease, although the risk reductions were substantially smaller in the latter, reports a modeling on the lifetime benefits of these drugs among the over-70s, published online in the journal Heart.

10 Sep 2024

Early cholesterol spikes fuel atherosclerosis by altering macrophages

Early intermittent hyperlipidemia significantly accelerates atherosclerosis by disrupting macrophage function, highlighting the need for early cholesterol management.

6 Sep 2024

Alirocumab reduces dangerous coronary plaque and stabilizes high-risk lesions

Intensive LDL-C lowering with alirocumab significantly reduces high-risk coronary plaque burden, transforming unstable plaques into more stable phenotypes. This lesion-level analysis underscores the enhanced efficacy compared to vessel-level approaches.

4 Sep 2024