http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Statins, the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide, are often suggested to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease in individuals with obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of medical disorders including excess body fat and/or high levels of blood pressure, blood sugar and/or cholesterol. However, University of Missouri researchers found that simvastatin, a generic type of statin previously sold under the brand name "Zocor," hindered the positive effects of exercise for obese and overweight adults. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cholesterol-lowering-drug-benefits-obese-adults.html Cardiology Wed, 15 May 2013 15:42:27 EST news287851338 A new study raises the intriguing possibility that drugs prescribed to lower cholesterol may be effective against macular degeneration, a blinding eye disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cholesterol-buildup-links-atherosclerosis-macular.html Medical research Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:00:03 EST news284114151 Despite their well-documented benefits, statins, drugs used to lower cholesterol, are commonly discontinued in routine care. Statin discontinuation has been linked to increased risk for cardiovascular events and death in patients with coronary artery disease; nevertheless, the reasons for discontinuation are only starting to be explored. In a new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), researchers examined the role adverse reactions play in statin discontinuation and found that more than 90 percent of the patients who stopped taking a statin due to an adverse reaction, were able to tolerate it when they tried again. This study is published in the April 2, 2013 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-role-adverse-reactions-statin-discontinuation.html Cardiology Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:00:01 EST news284034188 Studies of the bioactive compounds found in apples aim to uncover compounds that have an ability to prevent or alter the risk of serious ailments such as diabetes and heart disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-apple-day-doctor.html Health Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:40:06 EST news283512412 (HealthDay)—Eating a high-fiber diet does more than promote digestive well-being; it's also good for your heart, an expert says. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-high-fiber-diet-heart-expert.html Cardiology Sun, 03 Mar 2013 04:12:58 EST news281506365 A transplanted kidney has a finite life expectancy because it often becomes the target of the recipient's immune system, which may mount antibodies that attack the organ. Because there is a critical need to extend the life of transplanted organs—especially in children, who can face two to three kidney transplants in their lifetime—researchers recently examined the role of this antibody-mediated injury in rejection and the effectiveness of medications to prevent it. Their findings are reported in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-antibody-response-linked-pediatric-kidney.html Other Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:00:01 EST news281289616 Researchers have discovered that adding lovastatin, a widely used cholesterol-lowering drug, to traditional antimalarial treatment decreases neuroinflammation and protects against cognitive impairment in a mouse model of cerebral malaria. Although there are differences between mouse models of cerebral malaria and human disease, these new findings indicate that statins are worthy of consideration in clinical trials of cerebral malaria, according to an article published in the Dec. 27 issue of PLOS Pathogens. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-statin-drug-malaria-effects.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 27 Dec 2012 17:00:03 EST news275848796 (HealthDay)—A new survey estimates that one in seven people in the United States regularly takes supplements that aren't vitamins or minerals—such as fish oil, echinacea or ginseng—but only 30 percent of them have had a doctor or nurse recommend supplements. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-supplement-widespread-americans.html Health Tue, 20 Nov 2012 09:40:16 EST news272626805 In the United States, the cost paid for statins (drugs to lower cholesterol) in people under the age of 65 who have private insurance continues to exceed comparable costs paid by the government in the United Kingdom (U.K.) by more than three fold. These results from Boston University's Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, are a follow up of an ongoing comparison of prescription drug costs between the U.S. and U.K. The initial results reported on relative drug costs in 2005. The current updated results for 2009 appear this week in the journal Pharmacotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-prescription-drugsa-comparison-countries.html Medications Thu, 01 Nov 2012 04:29:37 EST news270962944 With the results of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers say they are closer to finding an imaging technique that can identify thickening of the coronary artery wall, an early stage of coronary heart disease (CAD). The study is published online in the journal Radiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-mri-technique-early-stage-coronary-disease.html Cardiology Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:00:04 EST news268914248 A new report from American Cancer Society researchers finds that despite declining death rates, cancer has surpassed heart disease as the leading cause of death among Hispanics in the U.S. In 2009, the most recent year for which actual data are available, 29,935 people of Hispanic origin in the U.S. died of cancer, compared to 29,611 deaths from heart disease. Among non-Hispanic whites and African Americans, heart disease remains the number one cause of death. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-cancer-killer-hispanics.html Cancer Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:08:09 EST news267095199 Scientists have found that calorie restriction—a diet comprised of approximately 30 percent fewer calories but with the same nutrients of a standard diet—does not extend years of life or reduce age-related deaths in a 23-year study of rhesus monkeys. However, calorie restriction did extend certain aspects of health. The research, conducted by scientists at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health, is reported in the August 29, 2012 online issue of Nature. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-low-calorie-diet-prolong-life.html Medical research Wed, 29 Aug 2012 13:03:54 EST news265464228 People who are obese and also have high blood pressure and other risk factors called metabolic abnormalities may experience a faster decline in their cognitive skills over time than others, according to a study published in the August 21, 2012, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-obesity-metabolic-factors-linked-faster.html Neuroscience Mon, 20 Aug 2012 16:00:05 EST news264692556 Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs appear to be associated with reduced risk of recurrent cardiovascular events in men and women, but do not appear to be associated with reduced all-cause mortality or stroke in women, according to a report of a meta-analysis published June 25 in the Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-statins-recurrent-cardiovascular-events-men.html Cardiology Mon, 25 Jun 2012 16:27:06 EST news259860386 (Medical Xpress) -- Murmurings over the past couple of years suggesting that certain statins might reduce the risk for people developing skin cancer, have proven to be unfounded. New research by a team working out of the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit have found clear evidence that taking statins has no discernible impact on skin cancer rates. They have published their findings in the medical journal Cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-statins-dont-skin-cancer.html Cancer Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:19:51 EST news254387944 The food that inspires wariness is on course for inspiring even more wonder from a medical standpoint as scientists today reported the latest evidence that chili peppers are a heart-healthy food with potential to protect against the No. 1 cause of death in the developed world. The report was part of the 243rd National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) being held this week. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-hot-pepper-compound-hearts.html Cardiology Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:00:14 EST news252082946 (HealthDay) -- There may be a link between low levels of "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and increased cancer risk, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-bad-cholesterol-linked-cancer.html Cardiology Mon, 26 Mar 2012 08:10:02 EST news251957292 A molecule embedded in the membrane of human liver cells that aids in cholesterol absorption also allows the entry of hepatitis C virus, the first step in hepatitis C infection, according to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-entry-hepatitis-infection.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:56:38 EST news246632180 In the United States, the cost paid for statins (drugs to lower cholesterol) in people under the age of 65 who have private insurance is approximately 400 percent higher than comparable costs paid by the government in the United Kingdom (U.K.). These findings, from the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, are the first results of a comprehensive comparison of prescription drug costs between the U.S. and U.K. The study appears on-line in the journal Pharmacotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-statin-percent-higher-uk.html Medications Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:55:09 EST news244994100 Lean beef can contribute to a heart-healthy diet in the same way lean white meats can, according to nutritional scientists. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-cow-heart-healthy-choice.html Health Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:45:32 EST news243690323 Despite significant improvements in stroke prevention over the past decade, and a fall in incidence and deaths, UK doctors are still undertreating one of the major risk factors - atrial fibrillation - reveals research published in BMJ Open. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-uk-doctors-undertreating-atrial-fibrillation.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 13 Oct 2011 03:32:04 EST news237695514 Elevated blood cholesterol levels are regarded as a risk factor for heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases. However, this does not necessarily mean that every cholesterol-lowering drug can also prevent heart attacks. For example, the benefit of the cholesterol-lowering drug ezetimibe is unclear. In particular, proof is lacking that patients have a greater benefit if they take ezetimibe in addition to statins for the prevention of heart attacks. This is the result of the final report published by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) on 12 September 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-elevated-cholesterol-benefit-ezetimibe-proven.html Medications Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:45:09 EST news235215866 People with high cholesterol may have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the September 13, 2011, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-reveals-link-high-cholesterol-alzheimer.html Neuroscience Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:00:26 EST news235043254 Hearing dietary advice twice is enough for patients to get the significant benefits of lower cholesterol, according to a new study led by doctors at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-nag-doctors-nutrition-advice-home.html Health Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:11:50 EST news233395897