Lipids News and Research

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Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The main biological functions of lipids include energy storage, as structural components of cell membranes, and as important signaling molecules.

Rising triglyceride levels may be behind rising rates of obesity

A new 30-year analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database conducted by the National Lipid Association (NLA) indicates that while Americans are doing a better job of managing LDL or "bad" cholesterol, the percentage of adults with high triglycerides, a blood fat linked to heart disease, has doubled, leaving many people at risk for potentially life-threatening events such as heart attack or stroke.

10 Nov 2008

Pre-eclampsia during pregnancy signals need to screen for heart disease

High blood pressure experienced during pregnancy could be a woman's earliest warning that she is at risk of developing heart disease - the number one killer of Canadian women - says Queen's University professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Graeme Smith.

5 Nov 2008

Expert warns that high blood pressure during pregnancy could be a sign of future heart disease

A Canadian expert is warning that high blood pressure during pregnancy could be an early warning that the woman is at risk of developing heart disease later on.

5 Nov 2008

Life in Canada more deadly for immigrants?

Immigrants who come to Canada seeking a better life may in fact be setting themselves up for possible premature death.

26 Oct 2008

Discovery of earliest known cases of human tuberculosis in Neolithic village

The discovery of the earliest known cases of human tuberculosis (TB) in bones found submerged off the coast of Israel shows that the disease is 3000 years older than previously thought. Direct examination of this ancient DNA confirms the latest theory that bovine TB evolved later than human TB.

14 Oct 2008

Cholesterol research, begun in the 'Little Skate,' Garners Award

New research on the way the body processes cholesterol has earned a scientist at the University of Rochester Medical Center one of the highest honors in the field.

2 Oct 2008

Breast is best - the secrets of breast milk

Scientists unraveling the composition of human breast milk say it may lead to new ways to prevent and treat stomach illnesses and other diseases in babies and adults.

29 Sep 2008

Hybrid nanoparticles image and treat tumors

By combining a magnetic nanoparticle, a fluorescent quantum dot, and an anticancer drug within a lipid-based nanoparticle, a multi-institutional research team headed by members of the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer has created a single agent that can image and treat tumors. In addition, this new nanoparticle is able to avoid detection by the immune system, enabling the particle to remain in the body for extended periods of time.

28 Sep 2008

Scientists develop nanometer-sized 'cargo ships' to target and destroy tumors

Scientists have developed nanometer-sized 'cargo ships' that can sail throughout the body via the bloodstream without immediate detection from the body's immune radar system and ferry their cargo of anti-cancer drugs and markers into tumors that might otherwise go untreated or undetected.

11 Sep 2008

New treatment for diabetics identified

Some of the most serious health complications associated with diabetes could be prevented or delayed by taking a widely available cholesterol-lowering drug which has already been on the market for three decades, new research has shown.

8 Sep 2008

Why bypass surgery helps in diabetes

To manage obesity, various different surgical procedures can be performed on the stomach, including so-called bypass surgery in which, as well as reducing the size of the stomach, a bypass is created to send food directly into the distal gut (which, before the operation, is far from the stomach).

3 Sep 2008

Oxidative stress: mechanism of cell death clarified

Dr. Marcus Conrad of the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology and Tumor Genetics at the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen has decrypted the molecular mechanism through which the death of cells is caused by oxidative stress.

3 Sep 2008

New hope for treating common form of inherited neuromuscular disease

Treatments that ramp up production of the tiny "motors" that power cells may have promise for treating one of the most common forms of inherited neuromuscular disease, according to a report in the September Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. Neuromuscular disorders caused by defects in those mitochondrial motors affect a large number of children and adults worldwide, but today remain without treatment, the researchers said.

3 Sep 2008

Advances in the management of diabetes mellitus

The need for long term studies to establish the best means of treating Diabetes, was underlined by Prof John Cleland from the University of Hull at the ESC Congress in Munich. Prof Cleland listed the latest treatment available for patients and voiced his concern about the side-effects and efficacy of available anti-diabetic drugs.

1 Sep 2008

Sex hormones link to heart risk

Men are more prone to - and likely to die of - heart disease compared with women of a similar age - and sex hormones are to blame, according to a new University of Leicester led study.

1 Sep 2008

Primary prevention of coronary heart disease: challenges and achievements

The European Society of Cardiology together with other partner Societies has engaged in a comprehensive programme of prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) since 1994. Guidelines on this important topic have been developed and updated at regular intervals over the last 13 years, most recently in 2007.

1 Sep 2008

Alcohol consumption can cause too much cell death, fetal abnormalities

The initial signs of fetal alcohol syndrome are slight but classic: facial malformations such as a flat and high upper lip, small eye openings and a short nose.

25 Aug 2008

Century old rule of chemistry overturned - major implications for drug delivery

A new study by research chemists at the University of Warwick has challenged a century old rule of pharmacology that defined how quickly key chemicals can pass across cell walls. The new observations of the Warwick researchers suggest that the real transport rates could be up to a hundred times slower than predicted by the century old "Overton's Rule". This could have major implications for the development and testing of many future drugs.

25 Aug 2008

Lycopene molecules in tomatoes could help fight cancer

Turning up the heat on the red tomato during processing has the potential to give the popular garden staple added disease-fighting power, Ohio State University research suggests.

20 Aug 2008

Window of opportunity for newly diagnosed diabetics

According to health researchers in the U.S., people who lose weight soon after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are far more likely to reach satisfactory blood glucose and blood pressure goals.

13 Aug 2008