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News items on 'Cholesterol Level'
'No fasting' for cholesterol test
(BBC 11/11/2009)
Patients may not need to fast before having their cholesterol tested, a major report has found. After analysing data from 300,000 people, Cambridge researchers found results were just as accurate if the patient had eaten before the test. For decades patients have been told to fast for 12 hours prior to a test. It is hoped the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, may inform new guidelines for doctors in the UK.
Statins are the new NHS wonder drug for cutting cholesterol. But do they have sinister side-effects?
(Daily Mail 10/03/2009)
Could statins, the cholesterol-lowering drugs taken by more than three million Britons, be doing more harm than good to many thousands of patients? This is the rather alarming suggestion to emerge from two new studies. The research challenges the medical convention that lowering your cholesterol is always a good thing - indeed, they suggest statins may affect intelligence, cause depression and even raise the risk of suicide.
Millions of elderly patients prescribed unnecessary pills because of 'tick-box culture', says expert
(Daily Mail 04/03/2009)
Millions of healthy older people are being prescribed pills that they don't need, claims a top doctor. The treatments for high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes could in fact be harmful, warns Professor Michael Oliver. He blames the 'tick-box culture' - by which GPs are paid - and Health Service guidelines for encouraging the use of such drugs.
Regular eggs 'no harm to health'
(BBC 11/02/2009)
Limiting egg consumption has little effect on cholesterol levels, research has confirmed. A University of Surrey team said there is cholesterol present in eggs but this does not usually make a great contribution to your level of blood cholesterol. Writing in the British Nutrition Foundation's Nutrition Bulletin, they said eating saturated fats was far more likely to cause health problems.
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The gold-dust jabs that can cut your cholesterol
(Daily Mail 20/01/2009)
A man-made 'good' cholesterol that can be injected into the body could slash the risk of heart disease. The artificial cholesterol is made from particles of gold dust coated in layers of fat. It is designed to mimic the effects of high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, the so-called good cholesterol that prevents the build-up of dangerous fat deposits in blood vessels [trials of effectiveness required].
Amish gene 'limits heart disease'
(BBC 12/12/2008)
Researchers found 5% of the US Amish population in Lancaster, Pennsylvania have a mutation in a protein which breaks down fatty particles. Those with the mutation had higher levels of "good" HDL-cholesterol and lower levels of "bad" LDL-cholesterol, the journal Science reported. It is hoped the finding will lead to new therapies to reduce cholesterol.
Cholesterol family tests planned
(BBC 08/12/2008)
A screening programme is being developed by the assembly government and cardiac experts to identify people at risk of early heart attacks.
Treatment to cut cholesterol 'should begin in childhood'
(The Independent 05/08/2008)
Treatment to lower cholesterol should begin in childhood in order to maximise its efficacy at preventing heart disease, specialists say.
'Good' cholesterol dementia risk
(BBC 01/07/2008)
Too little of one type of cholesterol has been linked by research to memory loss and Alzheimer's disease.
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