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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.

Direct link between high cholesterol levels and prostate cancer

A possible association has been suggested before but evidence has been limited. This new study, published in Annals of Oncology shows a statistically significant direct relationship between the two conditions.

13 Apr 2006

Research provides clues to obesity's cause

Hot fudge sundaes and french fries aside, new research suggests obesity is due at least in part to an attraction between leptin, the hormone that signals the brain when to stop eating, and a protein more recently associated with heart disease.

13 Apr 2006

Prostate cancer risk linked to high cholesterol

Italian Researchers say they have found what they believe to be the first direct link between high cholesterol levels and prostate cancer.

12 Apr 2006

Statins may be able to play a role in preventing or slowing heart valve disease

Research to be published in the April 18 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology provides the first explanation of an active rather than passive process that leads to heart valve degeneration, furthering a Northwestern researcher's effort to lead a paradigm shift in the medical community's beliefs about the cause of valve disease.

11 Apr 2006

Leptin may lead to new approaches for curbing appetite

11 Apr 2006

Guidelines for medication withdrawal

Although thousands of scientific papers evaluate and compare new and established drugs each year, providing evidence to help doctors prescribe safe and effective doses, almost no studies focus on when or how to stop these medications, even late in life.

11 Apr 2006

Enzymes that harm brain immediately after stroke may be beneficial days later

Insights from the study could change the way stroke is treated, extending the window for effective treatment from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks. The results may suggest new ideas for drug development.

4 Apr 2006

Cholesterol: the public policy implications of not doing enough

A major new report by think tank, The Stockholm Network, shows policy makers are not doing enough to tackle rising cholesterol levels.

28 Mar 2006

Substantial protection from coronary heart disease given by lowering cholesterol earlier in life

New research from UT Southwestern Medical Center indicates that lowering "bad" blood cholesterol earlier in life, even by a modest amount, confers substantial protection from coronary heart disease.

27 Mar 2006

Long term reduction in LDL cholesterol dramatically reduces risk of heart disease

A new genetic analysis of more than 12,000 individuals has found that a decrease in low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, of as little as 15 percent, sustained over the long term can dramatically reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

23 Mar 2006

Atorvastatin could prove an effective therapy for multiple sclerosis

Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University Medical Center are reporting compelling new evidence that the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin could prove an effective therapy for preventing the progression of, and reversing the severity of, multiple sclerosis (MS).

20 Mar 2006

Intensive statin therapy shows promise for inducing regression of coronary atherosclerosis

Patients treated with very intensive statin therapy lowered LDL-C levels on average by about 50 percent, increased HDL-C levels by 15 percent, and showed regression of coronary atherosclerosis

15 Mar 2006

Statin drug reverses heart disease

Researchers say a high dose of a cholesterol-lowering statin drug can reverse the build-up of plaque in coronary arteries.

15 Mar 2006

Intensive cholesterol lowering with a statins can partially reverse the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries

A study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 55th Annual Scientific Session demonstrates, for the first time, that very intensive cholesterol lowering with a statin drug can regress (partially reverse) the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries.

14 Mar 2006

Pills containing plant sterols lower LDL cholesterol

A pill containing plant substances called sterols can help lower cholesterol, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

9 Mar 2006

Aspirin is beneficial in a wide range of men for protection against heart disease

Taking aspirin to prevent coronary heart disease is beneficial and cost-effective for a wider range of men than is often recognized, a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found.

9 Mar 2006

Soy protein, almonds, plant sterol enriched margarines, oats and barley among most effective cholesterol-lowering foods

Cholesterol-lowering foods such as soy protein, almonds, plant sterol enriched margarines, oats and barley may reduce cholesterol levels more effectively when eaten in combination, says a new University of Toronto study by Professor David Jenkins.

9 Mar 2006

Statin drugs may improve the endothelial dysfunction

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine say preliminary results of a small study show promise in improving erectile dysfunction (ED) in men who had shown minimal reaction to Viagra.

24 Feb 2006

Statins lessen heart attack risk

For patients with undiagnosed heart disease, taking medications known as statins and beta-blockers may mean the difference between suffering a heart attack as a first symptom versus experiencing mild chest pain.

24 Feb 2006

Statins and beta blockers may reduce heart attack risk

For patients with undiagnosed heart disease, taking a statin or beta blocker could mean the difference between experiencing mild chest pain, or having a full-blown heart attack as a first symptom. That's the finding of a Kaiser Permanente study in the February 21 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

21 Feb 2006