http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The energetic and radiant hue of emerald green has been declared the spring color of 2013. While green shirts, pants and jackets will be seen everywhere this season, so should green food on your plate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-green.html Health Tue, 05 Mar 2013 08:50:01 EST news281695200 Research published Online First in The Lancet provides new evidence that a substantial proportion of individuals with a clinical diagnosis of Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) inherit a combination of small-effect changes in several genes (polygenic) rather than a large-effect mutation in a single gene (monogenic). These findings have implications for the majority of national guidelines on family screening for FH, that advocate testing relatives of all individuals with a clinical diagnosis of FH, including those of the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-effectiveness-genetic-strategy-inherited-high.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 21 Feb 2013 18:30:01 EST news280685172 Findings published today in the British Medical Journal show that exchanging fatty foods for lower fat alternatives will help people shift around three-and-a-half pounds - without dieting. People taking part in trials also saw their waist-lines become slimmer, and levels of bad cholesterol decrease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-fat-diet-key-slimmer-figure.html Overweight and Obesity Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:30:01 EST news274032109 Fifteen new genetic regions associated with coronary artery disease have been identified by a large, international consortium of scientists—including researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine—taking a significant step forward in understanding the root causes of this deadly disease. The new research brings the total number of validated genetic links with heart disease discovered through genome-wide association studies to 46. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-international-inflammation-plaque-buildup-heart.html Genetics Sun, 02 Dec 2012 13:00:47 EST news273667172 For many people with high cholesterol, statins serve as the first line of treatment. However, some patients are unable to effectively reduce their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) or "bad cholesterol" levels with statins, the most commonly used medication to treat high cholesterol, due to their bodies' inability to tolerate or sufficiently respond to the medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-drug-significantly-lowers-bad-cholesterol.html Cardiology Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:40:48 EST news271435209 If a medical study seems too good to be true, it probably is, according to a new analysis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-medical-results-false.html Cancer Wed, 24 Oct 2012 16:20:01 EST news270314004 (Medical Xpress)—When it comes to matters of a healthy heart women may benefit more from eating oily fish than men, a new study has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-fish-oils-healthier-women-hearts.html Health Fri, 12 Oct 2012 07:58:20 EST news269247439 (Medical Xpress)—Eating an apple a day may keep the doctor away, but eating watermelon may just keep the cardiologist at bay. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-watermelon-shown-boost-heart-health.html Health Wed, 03 Oct 2012 07:52:33 EST news268469530 (Medical Xpress)—Eating an apple a day might in fact help keep the cardiologist away, new research suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-apple-day-lowers-blood-chemical.html Health Tue, 02 Oct 2012 12:36:36 EST news268400095 Taking vitamin D supplements to compensate for vitamin D deficiency didn't improve cholesterol—at least in the short term, according to new research in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, an American Heart Association journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-vitamin-d-supplement-cholesterol-short.html Cardiology Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:00:03 EST news265964748 Eating a moderate amount of chocolate each week may be associated with a lower risk of stroke in men, according to a new study published in the August 29, 2012, online issue of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-chocolate-sweet-method-men.html Neuroscience Wed, 29 Aug 2012 16:00:01 EST news265459708 After years of having it drilled into their heads, most people now know that LDL (low-density lipoprotein) is the "bad" cholesterol package that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, and HDL (high-density lipoprotein) is the "good" type that helps reduce it by removing cholesterol from artery walls. So if your HDL number is high, you've probably patted yourself on the back; if it's low, you may have tried to raise it by, for instance, exercising more, losing weight, drinking a daily glass of wine, or even taking medication, such as high-dose niacin. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-hdl-good.html Health Tue, 28 Aug 2012 08:47:10 EST news265362415 A Wayne State University researcher has found that an extract from algae could become a key to regulating cardiovascular disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-algae-good-cholesterol.html Health Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:05:34 EST news260805922 (AP) -- Half the nation's overweight teens have unhealthy blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar levels that put them at risk for future heart attacks and other cardiac problems, new federal research says. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-cdc-overweight-teens-heart.html Pediatrics Mon, 21 May 2012 03:46:57 EST news256790803 One of life's simple pleasures just got a little sweeter. After years of waffling research on coffee and health, even some fear that java might raise the risk of heart disease, a big study finds the opposite: Coffee drinkers are a little more likely to live longer. Regular or decaf doesn't matter. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-coffee-java-drinkers-longer.html Health Thu, 17 May 2012 04:33:35 EST news256448008 (AP) -- Federal health officials are adding new safety warnings about risks of memory loss and elevated blood sugar to statins, a widely prescribed group of cholesterol-lowering medications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-fda-safety-statin-drugs.html Medications Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:26:41 EST news249661587 (Medical Xpress) -- A protein that directs traffic within human cells has been identified as playing a key role in the accumulation of so-called “bad” cholesterol, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-protein-cholesterol-traffic.html Medical research Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:00:01 EST news248946160 Sales of cholesterol blockbuster Lipitor plunged by half barely a week after the world's top-selling drug got its first U.S. generic competition, new data show. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-rivals-lipitor-sales-halved.html Medications Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:00:02 EST news243578929 Scientists from the University of Leicester and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have announced a breakthrough advance in tackling dangerous 'bad' cholesterol in the body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-advance-bad-cholesterol.html Medical research Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:40:01 EST news242562451 (AP) -- Lipitor is so valuable that its maker, Pfizer Inc., is practically paying people to keep taking the blockbuster cholesterol medicine after generic competition hits the U.S. market this week. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-pfizer-maneuvers-lipitor.html Medications Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:03:24 EST news241804972 A shot that could lower cholesterol, a connection between blood type and stroke, and how income affects heart health were among more than 4,000 papers presented this week at the American Heart Association's 84th annual scientific meeting in Orlando. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-heart-experts.html Cardiology Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:40:01 EST news241098478 (Medical Xpress) -- Millions of people take statins, the blockbuster drug that lowers low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called bad cholesterol. But as many as 20 percent of them develop adverse effects such as muscle fatigue and weakness and impaired cognition. Rockefeller University scientists Patricia Maningat and Jan L. Breslow, writing in this week’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, argue that clinical trials need to be designed to address the needs of statin-intolerant patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-statin-intolerant-patients-clinical-trial.html Medical research Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:01:46 EST news240825665 In patients whose bad cholesterol is very well-controlled by statins for a long time period, the addition of high-dose, extended release niacin did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-niacin-heart-stable-cv-patients.html Cardiology Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:06:17 EST news240576281 Maximum doses of Crestor (rosuvastatin) or Lipitor (atorvastatin) are similarly effective in reversing the buildup of cholesterol plaques in the coronary artery walls (atherosclerosis) after 24 months of treatment, according to Cleveland Clinic researchers. The extent of reversal of atherosclerosis observed in this trial was unprecedented and was achieved with excellent drug safety. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-statin-drugs-similarly-effective-reversing.html Cardiology Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:42:21 EST news240576115 Patients unable to control their cholesterol levels with medications may someday be able to lower their "bad" cholesterol with a shot, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-lowers-cholesterol-preliminary-human-trial.html Cardiology Mon, 14 Nov 2011 09:29:33 EST news240485364 (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration says Merck's cholesterol drug Vytorin helps reduce heart attack, stroke and related problems in patients with kidney disease, a potential new use for the blockbuster drug. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-fda-vytorin-kidney-disease-patients.html Medications Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:30:12 EST news239283003 A one-dose method for delivering gene therapy into an arterial wall effectively protects the artery from developing atherosclerosis despite ongoing high blood cholesterol. The promising results, published July 19 in the journal Molecular Therapy, came from research in rabbits. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-gene-therapy-blood-vessel-wall.html Medical research Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:23:38 EST news230307799 Eating nuts every day could help control Type 2 diabetes and prevent its complications, according to new research from St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-nutty-solution-diabetes.html Health Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:50:43 EST news229683020 There is much confusion at present about the importance of fatty acids in preventing heart attacks. Recent studies have questioned the need to reduce the intake of saturated fatty acids in the diet and to increase that of polyunsaturated fatty acids. In an article in the British Journal of Nutrition based on a desk study, researchers of Wageningen University, part of Wageningen UR, clarify what is the best intake. A low intake of saturated and trans fatty acids, a minimum intake of 10 grams per day for women and 15 grams per day for men of the polyunsaturated fatty acid linoleic acid and a minimum intake of 250 mg per day of certain fish fatty acids give the best guarantee of a low risk of a heart attack. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-intake-fatty-acids-heart.html Health Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:32:27 EST news228645094 The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has stopped a clinical trial studying a blood lipid treatment 18 months earlier than planned. The trial found that adding high dose, extended-release niacin to statin treatment in people with heart and vascular disease, did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-nih-clinical-trial-combination-cholesterol.html Medications Thu, 26 May 2011 12:55:21 EST news225633244