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.

Walgreens re-launches its website with expanded shopping tools and services

Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain and a leading destination for health and wellness services, today announced the re-launch of Walgreens.com (www.walgreens.com), offering users a variety of new healthy living and product resources, along with expanded yet simplified shopping tools and services.

23 Nov 2009

100th patient enrolled in Atrium Medical's iCAST Atrium Registry Ultrasound Study

Atrium Medical Corporation announced that the 100th patient was enrolled in the iCAST™ Atrium Registry Ultrasound Study (iCARUS). The iCARUS study is a prospective, multi-center clinical trial studying the safety and efficacy of the Atrium iCAST™ Balloon Expandable Covered Stent in patients with occlusive disease in the iliac artery.

23 Nov 2009

Foods rich in antioxidant substances could delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) researchers have confirmed that a diet rich in polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids, patented as an LMN diet, helps boost the production of the brain's stem cells -neurogenesis- and strengthens their differentiation in different types of neuron cells.

23 Nov 2009

Complicated flow of cellular messages can lead to self-destruction of brain cells, says new study

Scientists at the Brain Research Centre, a partnership of the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, have uncovered new information about the mechanism by which brain cells die following a stroke, as well as a possible way to mitigate that damage. The results of the study were recently published online in Nature Medicine.

23 Nov 2009

Inaugural recipient of the Pfizer/Heart and Stroke Foundation Chair chosen

Renowned B.C. kinesiologist and heart disease researcher Dr. Scott Lear is the inaugural recipient of the Pfizer/Heart and Stroke Foundation Chair in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Research at St. Paul's Hospital, established in partnership with Simon Fraser University (SFU).

21 Nov 2009

Review of study presented at American Heart Association Scientific Sessions

Adding the cholesterol drug niacin to a statin improved HDL ("good") cholesterol levels and significantly reduced carotid arterial plaque buildup measured with ultrasound within 8 months, with further improvement seen at the end of the study (14 months).

21 Nov 2009

Whole genome analysis identifies 43 genetic loci contributing to lipoprotein metabolism

Using highly precise measurements of plasma lipoprotein concentrations determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), researchers led by Daniel Chasman at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, the Framingham Heart Study in Framingham, and the PROCARDIS consortium in Stockholm, Sweden and Oxford, England performed genetic association analysis across the whole genome among 17,296 women of European ancestry from the Women's Genome Health Study.

21 Nov 2009

Employers take action to improve medication adherence

More employers are taking steps to improve their employees' health by making sure they take their medicines as prescribed, a move that could stave off more serious and costly health consequences, according to a new report sponsored by the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC).

21 Nov 2009

Quit smoking and get Karen Sokolof Javitch's "STAR TRACKS - THE TRIBUTE ALBUM" CD for free

Karen Sokolof Javitch is hoping that her new CD: STAR TRACKS - THE TRIBUTE ALBUM will encourage people to throw away their cigarettes! "It's worth a try," says Javitch, who decided to dedicate her CD to Patrick Swayze, who recently died of pancreatic cancer. "He was a 3-pack-a-day smoker, and never quit, even when he got sick." Her mother also died at age 56 (like Patrick) and she is sure cigarette smoking contributed to her death.

20 Nov 2009

Only 1 in 4 Americans aged 50-64 regularly take advantage of preventive screenings, says report

Only about 1 in 4 Americans aged 50-64 regularly take advantage of preventive services such as screenings and immunizations, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with AARP and the American Medical Association (AMA).

20 Nov 2009

Scientists anticipate new approaches in drug development to combat prion infection

The regulating protein Srebp2 drives cholesterol formation, which prions need for their propagation, in prion-infected neuronal cells. With these findings, published in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München and Technische Universität München anticipate new approaches in drug development to combat prion infection.

20 Nov 2009

Purchasing prescription drugs in a three-month supply reduce cost of drugs for patients

Purchasing prescription drugs in a three-month supply rather than a one-month supply has long been regarded as a way to reduce the cost of drugs for patients and third-party payers. New research from the University of Chicago quantifies the savings for the first time.

20 Nov 2009

High blood pressure: A major risk factor for stroke and heart disease

Today, Jamieson Laboratories, in partnership with the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON), is holding a one day Blood Pressure Blitz in Toronto's underground PATH system in an effort to educate consumers about the number one risk factor for stroke and a major risk factor of heart disease.

20 Nov 2009

Data from second positive pivotal study of PSD502 for treatment of PE presented

At the annual meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA), Inc. in San Diego, Sciele Pharma, Inc., a Shionogi Company and Plethora Solutions Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Plethora Solutions Holdings PLC ("Plethora")., today presented data from its second positive pivotal study of PSD502 for the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE).

20 Nov 2009

Positive results from Sciele Pharma's second pivotal study of PSD502 for the treatment of PE

At the annual meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America, Inc. in San Diego, Sciele Pharma, Inc., a Shionogi Company, and Plethora Solutions Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Plethora Solutions Holdings PLC, today presented data from its second positive pivotal study of PSD502 for the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE).

19 Nov 2009

Experts to study how olive oil lowers the level of cytotoxicity in endothelial cells

Experts at Virgen del Rocío Hospital (Seville, Spain) have begun a study on pregnancy preeclampsia on a sample of 30 pregnant women with a view to demonstrating whether or not consumption of olive oil by this population group results in lower levels of cytotoxicity (for example, cholesterol) in endothelial cells (arterial wall cells).

19 Nov 2009

Joint project focuses on finding ways to prevent dementia, including Alzheimer's disease

Every two years, 2,000 senior Group Health patients check in with the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study. The joint project between Group Health Research Institute and the University of Washington (UW) focuses on finding ways to delay or prevent dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, and declines in memory and thinking.

19 Nov 2009

Dual niacin-statin therapy improves blood cholesterol levels but does not diminish plaque buildup

The routine prescription of extended-release niacin, a B vitamin (1,500 milligrams daily), in combination with traditional cholesterol-lowering therapy offers no extra benefit in correcting arterial narrowing and diminishing plaque buildup in seniors who already have coronary artery disease, a new vascular imaging study from Johns Hopkins experts shows.

19 Nov 2009

Gene-diet interaction influencing BMI and obesity replicated in three independent studies

Tufts University researchers have identified a gene-diet interaction that appears to influence body weight and have replicated their findings in three independent studies. Men and women carrying the CC genotype demonstrated higher body mass index (BMI) scores and a higher incidence of obesity, but only if they consumed a diet high in saturated fat. These associations were seen in the apolipoprotein A-II gene (APOA2) promoter.

18 Nov 2009

Findings of Merck's anacetrapib phase IIb study presented at the AHA sessions

In a phase IIb study in 589 patients with primary hypercholesterolemia or mixed hyperlipidemia treated with anacetrapib as monotherapy or co-administered with atorvastatin, there were persistent lipid effects in the higher dose arms in both the monotherapy and co-administration treatment groups eight weeks after stopping active therapy with anacetrapib.

18 Nov 2009

Cholesterol News and Research

Further Reading

Walgreens re-launches its website with expanded shopping tools and services

100th patient enrolled in Atrium Medical's iCAST Atrium Registry Ultrasound Study

Foods rich in antioxidant substances could delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease

Complicated flow of cellular messages can lead to self-destruction of brain cells, says new study

Inaugural recipient of the Pfizer/Heart and Stroke Foundation Chair chosen

Review of study presented at American Heart Association Scientific Sessions

Whole genome analysis identifies 43 genetic loci contributing to lipoprotein metabolism

Employers take action to improve medication adherence

Quit smoking and get Karen Sokolof Javitch's "STAR TRACKS - THE TRIBUTE ALBUM" CD for free

Only 1 in 4 Americans aged 50-64 regularly take advantage of preventive screenings, says report

Scientists anticipate new approaches in drug development to combat prion infection

Purchasing prescription drugs in a three-month supply reduce cost of drugs for patients

High blood pressure: A major risk factor for stroke and heart disease

Data from second positive pivotal study of PSD502 for treatment of PE presented

Positive results from Sciele Pharma's second pivotal study of PSD502 for the treatment of PE

Experts to study how olive oil lowers the level of cytotoxicity in endothelial cells

Joint project focuses on finding ways to prevent dementia, including Alzheimer's disease

Dual niacin-statin therapy improves blood cholesterol levels but does not diminish plaque buildup

Gene-diet interaction influencing BMI and obesity replicated in three independent studies

Findings of Merck's anacetrapib phase IIb study presented at the AHA sessions

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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