Too much cholesterol in the blood, or high blood cholesterol, can be serious. People with high blood cholesterol have a greater chance of getting heart disease. High blood cholesterol itself does not cause symptoms, so many people are unaware that their cholesterol level is too high.
A diet containing unsaturated fats, such as those found in walnuts and olive oil, has similar weight loss effects as a lower fat, higher-carbohydrate diet. The research led by Dr. Cheryl Rock of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Researchers also showed that a diet containing walnuts, which are primarily comprised of … Read more
Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Praluent® (alirocumab) Injection, the first FDA-approved treatment in a new class of drugs known as PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9) inhibitors. Praluent is indicated as an adjunct to diet and maximally tolerated statin therapy for the treatment of adults … Read more
New drug alirocumab halved number of heart attacks and strokes – An experimental cholesterol-lowering drug from Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals roughly halved the number of heart attacks and strokes in a clinical trial, revealed by researchers at the European Society of Cardiology yearly gathering in Barcelona.
Cholesterol increases risk of Alzheimer’s and heart disease – High levels of blood cholesterol increase the risk of both Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease, but it has been unclear exactly how cholesterol damages the brain to promote Alzheimer’s disease and blood vessels to promote atherosclerosis.
Cholesterol levels rise, fall with changing seasons — Shifts in metabolism, behaviors and other factors at work – Cholesterol levels seem to fluctuate significantly with the turning seasons, which may leave some people with borderline high cholesterol at greater cardiovascular risk during the winter months, showing heart attacks and heart-related deaths increase during the winter months.
US FDA approves new orphan drug Kynamro to treat inherited cholesterol disorder – Kynamro – mipomersen sodium – injection approved as an addition to lipid-lowering medications and diet to treat patients with a rare type of high cholesterol called homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH). Kynamro is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Fasting Time Prior to Blood Lipid Tests Appears to Have Limited Association With Lipid Levels – Fasting prior to blood lipid tests appears to have limited association with lipid subclass levels, suggesting that fasting for routine lipid level determinations may be unnecessary.
Statins appear associated with reduced risk of recurrent cardiovascular events in men, women – 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. Statins have been used to lower cholesterol levels for the last 20 years.
Statins shown to cause fatigue-with-exertion or impaired energy – Researchers found that individuals taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are more likely than non-users to experience decreased energy, fatigue upon exertion, or both. The researchers suggest that these findings should be taken into account by doctors when weighing risk versus benefit in prescribing statins.
FDA Announces Safety Changes in Labeling for Some Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs – Important safety changes to the labeling for some widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins are being announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These products, when used with diet and exercise, help to lower a person’s “bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol).