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.

Curves program raises metabolic rate in overweight women

Eight research studies from a team of health and fitness experts at Baylor University found that sedentary and overweight women who followed the Curves program were able to significantly raise their resting energy expenditure (REE, also known as metabolic rate), in some cases by as much as 400 kcals/day.

21 Apr 2004

PreventiveLabs.com offers on-line blood test kit

In the wake of therecent death of McDonald's Chairman and CEO James Cantalup, it appears thatmore and more people are realizing the importance of taking preventivemeasures to detect health problems before the normal symptoms occur.

21 Apr 2004

Dieting greatly reduces risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes

People who severely restrict their caloric intake drastically reduce their risk of developing diabetes or clogged arteries, the precursor to a heart attack or stroke. In fact, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, some risk factors were so low they were comparable to those of people decades younger.

20 Apr 2004

Test results from 1970s linked to rates of erectile problems 25 years later

Age, obesity, high cholesterol, and high triglyceride measurements in midlife predict not only heart disease risks, but also the likelihood of erectile dysfunction decades later, according to a new study in the April 21, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

20 Apr 2004

Metabolic syndrome may make arteries thicker and stiffer

A cluster of cardiovascular disease risk factors, known as the metabolic syndrome, may “age” arteries, according to a new study in the April 21, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

20 Apr 2004

Strict dieting can dramatically reduce the risk of heart disease

19 Apr 2004

New ways to fight type 2 diabetes

Adults with type 2 diabetes who have just one additional risk factor for heart disease should be taking medication to lower cholesterol levels, according to new guidelines from the American College of Physicians (ACP).

19 Apr 2004

New method that will revolutionize the search for genes

Medical researchers know that most common human diseases, such as hypertension and diabetes, have a large genetic component. Many genes, interacting with the environment, contribute to these diseases. For researchers, a major challenge is finding all the genes involved with a particular disease.

18 Apr 2004

Citrus soda culprit in patient’s medical mystery

It took a team of medical sleuths at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to get to the bottom of what was causing the 35-year-old to have abnormal blood chemistries during a post-transplant check up.

16 Apr 2004

Liptor helps Alzheimer’s disease

In a small clinical trial enrolling 63 individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, half of those who received atorvastatin (Lipitor) stabilized or improved after one year of treatment, the trial’s principal investigator D. Larry Sparks, Ph.D., reported today at a professional meeting on Alzheimer therapy.

15 Apr 2004

Cinnamon's role as an insulin substitute in type II diabetes

Cinnamon may be more than a spice – it may have a medical application in preventing and combating diabetes. Cinnamon may help by playing the role of an insulin substitute in type II diabetes, according to cellular and molecular studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Iowa State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

14 Apr 2004

Estrogen-alone hormone therapy had no effect on coronary heart disease risk

A large, multi-center heart disease prevention study, part of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), found that estrogen-alone hormone therapy had no effect on coronary heart disease risk but increased the risk of stroke for postmenopausal women.

13 Apr 2004

Vitamin C can reduce levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation and chronic disease

Vitamin C supplements can reduce levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation and chronic disease risk in humans, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

12 Apr 2004

Pfizer's files lawsuit against unapproved copy of cholesterol drug Lipitor

Pfizer announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the operator of "look4generics.com," an internet site selling an unapproved copy of Pfizer's cholesterol drug, Lipitor. The suit was filed today in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

12 Apr 2004

Medicare to launch website showing comparative drug pricing

Medicare has announced it will be publishishing detailed information comparing the prices of most prescription drugs, which is set to shake up the pharmaceutical industry.

12 Apr 2004

Alcohol screening can spot addiction

Have you ever felt like you needed a drink? If an occasional cocktail changes into a need, it could mean an alcohol problem. National Alcohol Screening Day is April 8. In cities and towns throughout the United States, screening programs will be offered to help people determine whether they exhibit drinking behaviors that could be signs of alcohol addiction.

7 Apr 2004

Intensive diabetes management yields positive results

Increasing diabetes awareness and integrating a multi-faceted, approach to improve patient care and education, results in significantly improved patient outcomes, according to a report in the April issue of Clinical Diabetes, a publication of the American Diabetes Association.

7 Apr 2004

Research shows that intense high dose cholesterol lowering drugs result in a major reduction in deaths and severe heart attacks

If you want to increase your chances of living longer, taking cholesterol drugs is an easy way to do it. That's the message from a Harvard study of 4,162 people hospitalized in 350 places in eight countries. It is the first research to show that intense lowering of cholesterol results in a major reduction in deaths and severe heart attacks.

7 Apr 2004

Completion of the sequencing of human chromosome 19

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and Stanford University report today the completion of the sequencing of human chromosome 19, the most gene-rich of all the human chromosomes. This achievement is described in the April 1, 2004 edition of the journal Nature.

7 Apr 2004

Functional food, beyond providing a purely nutritional value, may promote health or reduce the risk of disease

Functional food, beyond providing a purely nutritional value, may promote health or reduce the risk of disease. An example is food meant to lower the cholesterol level. During the past few years, the potential benefits posed by functional foods have led to an increased interest by producers and consumers as well as a broader range of such products on the market worldwide.

5 Apr 2004