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BERKELEY, Calif., July 8 (UPI) -- California researchers found genes are more important than exercise in determining response to cholesterol. Researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute conducted a study to compare the effects of a high-fat diet and of exercise. Paul Williams gave diets that were either high or low in fat to 28 pairs of identical male twins -- one twin a vigorous exerciser, the other a comparative couch potato. For six weeks the twins ate either a high-fat diet -- 40 percent of its calories from fat,...

Over the last 40 years, heart specialists have learned a lot about the way cholesterol behaves in the body, much to the benefit of Americans destined to suffer heart attacks or strokes - at least half of the population. As knowledge has grown, the goals of treatment have changed, with lifesaving effects. And now they are changing again. At first, pioneers bent on preventing cardiovascular disease focused only on a person's total blood cholesterol level. A level of 240 milligrams per deciliter of blood serum was considered "normal" just a few decades ago. Then research, like the Framingham Heart Study...

Dr. Thomas B. Newman doesn't like the use of heart-rending stories to sway medical decision makers. He prefers statistical proof, the cold calculus of numbers. But in trying to explain why testing children's cholesterol rarely makes sense - a contention strongly disputed by many leading medical societies and government health agencies - even he cannot help stooping to a story. "I have a friend whose teenage son had his cholesterol measured," said Dr. Newman, a pediatrician and professor in the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. "He was on the swim team and the...

Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs can almost halve the risk of colon cancer, even in people with a family history of the disease, a joint Israeli-US study has shown. Nearly 105,000 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer in the United States this year, according to the American Cancer Society, and some 56,000 will die from the disease. People who took a type of cholesterol-lowering drug for five years had nearly half the risk of developing colon cancer, even when they had a family history of the disease or other risk factors, according to researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The...

Not all that long ago, a low cholesterol score was seen as a sign of relative good health and a low risk of heart disease. But increasingly, doctors are identifying a group of people whose levels of L.D.L, the so-called bad cholesterol, are low, but who still appear to be at increased risk for atherosclerosis, heart attack and stroke. They have a condition known as metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors that include mild hypertension, elevated glucose levels, high triglycerides and low levels of H.D.L. cholesterol. People with the syndrome also tend to have high levels of a protein,...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - We hear plenty about the dangers of high cholesterol levels, but low levels apparently confer their own risks. Naturally low cholesterol levels are associated with poorer performance on a variety of cognitive measures, according to a new study. "It is not entirely surprising that lower cholesterol levels were associated with moderately lower levels of cognitive function, given (that) cholesterol is important in brain function," Dr. Penelope K. Elias from Boston University told Reuters Health. Previous reports have related both high and low total cholesterol levels to deficits in cognitive performance, Elias and her colleagues explain...

Japanese TV (FNN) ran a short report yesterday, highlighting the fact that Houston, Texas was voted as the US city with the most obese population.The report runs about one minute. It does not seem to be particularly flattering of poor Houston, nor overweight people living there (some which are profiled by telephoto lens). The way the clip is done is interesting, if not somewhat humorous, and from a Japanese perspective of rare obesity (but wait 'til it comes to cigarette smoking).At any rate, a short peek of how 'some' Americans are viewed and described, from overseas.

The Washington Times www.washingtontimes.com FDA mulls availability of drug for cholesterolBy Tom RamstackTHE WASHINGTON TIMESPublished January 14, 2005 A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel is scheduled to recommend today whether a drug aimed at treating high cholesterol should be sold from store shelves like common remedies for headaches, colds and allergies.     Merck & Co. and Johnson & Johnson, in a joint venture, have asked the FDA to let them sell a low-dose version of cholesterol-lowering Mevacor directly to consumers.     During the first day of a two-day hearing yesterday at a Bethesda, Md., hotel, FDA drug advisers questioned whether...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is considering whether a drug for a serious chronic condition - high cholesterol - should sit on drugstore shelves alongside medicines for headaches, allergies and athlete's foot. Supporters say making a low-dose cholesterol medicine available without a doctor's prescription would help get needed treatment to millions of Americans who are at risk of heart disease. "There's a huge treatment gap," said Jerry Hansen, vice president of marketing at Johnson & Johnson-Merck Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co., a joint venture that is asking the Food and Drug Administration for permission to sell a low-dose version of Mevacor over...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 - AstraZeneca's recent full-page newspaper advertisements defending the safety of its cholesterol-lowering pill, Crestor, are "false and misleading," in part because serious concerns remain about the safety of the drug, federal drug regulators said Wednesday. The advertisements stated that "the F.D.A. has confidence in the safety and efficacy of Crestor" and that the agency "as recently as last Friday publicly confirmed that Crestor is safe and effective." Neither is true, said a letter from the Food and Drug Administration to AstraZeneca. In fact, days before the advertisements ran, top agency officials were widely quoted expressing concerns about...

Eating meals that include all ingredients known to improve cardiovascular health could add years to your life, according to new study findings released Friday. According to an international group of experts' calculations, if men age 50 and older added almonds, garlic and other heart-healthy ingredients to their daily diets, they might increase their life expectancy by more than 6 years, and spend more time free of cardiovascular disease. The Polymeal includes ingredients that research has consistently shown can decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease. The menu includes wine, fish, dark chocolate, fruits, vegetables, garlic and almonds. All ingredients must be...

Straight from Michael Moore's front page, his "To Do" List... CALL ON THE GERMAN FEDERAL PROSECUTOR TO INVESTIGATE RUMSFELD AND OTHER U.S. OFFICIALS FOR WAR CRIMES AT ABU GHRAIB

12/13/04 Dear Friends, It is no surprise that the Republicans are sore winners. They have spent the better part of the past month beating their chests, threatening to send to Siberia any Republican who doesn’t toe the line (poor Arlen Specter), and promising everything short of martial law if the Democrats don’t do what they are told. What’s worse is to watch the pathetic sight of the DLC (the conservative, pro-corporate group of Democrats) apologizing for being Democrats and promising to “purge” the party of the likes of, well, all of US! Their comments are so hilarious and really not...

Lose weight and quit smoking - all by popping a single "superpill." That science fiction-like possibility could become a reality soon - thanks to an amazing new experimental drug. A third of the people taking the drug lost at least 10% of their body weight and were able to keep it off for two years. That's longer than for any diet drug on the market, new research showed.

High blood pressure and other ills also improved by operation. Obesity surgery helps patients do more than shed weight — it often cures their diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, researchers say. The research — an analysis of 136 studies — found that such operations are more than cosmetic. They appear to alter the patient’s body chemistry itself and eliminate or relieve conditions that can lead to heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. The analysis was funded by a Johnson & Johnson Co. subsidiary that develops and markets surgical instruments, including staplers for obesity surgery. But the results echo...

Caption this photo of an INCREDIBLY BLOATED Algore. BTW, this photo is from TODAY!

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UVSC expects continued support from most donors After two weeks of tempest, the storm of controversy swirling around Michael Moore's much-debated, much-anticipated appearance at Utah Valley State College appears to be waning. And that's a relief for UVSC chiefs, who braced for any financial repercussions over bringing the "Fahrenheit 9/11" filmmaker to Utah Valley, which during the 1980s earned the moniker as the most Republican county in the nation. "What we heard the first few days was a natural reaction, and I don't think people can be blamed for feeling that way," said Tom Heal, director of the UVSC Foundation,...

Researchers have found a compound in the blueberry that lowers cholesterol just as effectively as commercial drugs, with the added advantage of fewer side effects, according to a new study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The compound, called pterostilbene, shows promise as a natural medicine to lower cholesterol in patients that don't respond well to conventional drugs, according to the researchers. Lead study author, Dr. Agnes M. Rimando said the compound may be "a potent weapon against obesity and heart disease." Pterostilbene, an antioxidant, is similar to resveratrol, which is found in grapes and red wine, also believed to...

Federal health officials yesterday sharply reduced the desired levels of harmful cholesterol for Americans who are at moderate to high risk for heart disease. The new recommendations call for treatment with cholesterol-lowering drugs for millions of Americans who had thought their cholesterol levels were fine. Already more than 10 million people take the drugs. But now, more should start, the recommendations say. For people at the highest risk, they suggest that the target level of L.D.L., the type of cholesterol that increases the likelihood of heart disease, should be less than 100. That is 30 points lower than previously recommended....

Federal health officials today sharply reduced the desired levels of cholesterol for Americans who are at moderate to high risk for heart disease. The new recommendations call for treatment with cholesterol-lowering drugs for millions of Americans who had thought their cholesterol levels were fine. For people at the highest risk, they suggest that the target level of L.D.L. — the type of cholesterol that increases the likelihood of heart disease — should be less than 100. That is 30 points lower than previously recommended. ... The recommendations also call for more intensive drug treatment of both moderately high and high...

ONDON, May 14 — Britain will become the first country in the world to sell a cholesterol-reducing drug, called a statin, without a prescription. Starting in July, a low dosage of the drug Zocor will be sold over the counter to people at moderate risk of heart disease, a number that could reach 5 million to 10 million. That group includes all men older than 55, as well as men over 45 and women over 55 who smoke, are overweight, have a family history of heart disease or come from the Indian subcontinent, all groups that are at higher risk...

A compound found in the peels of citrus fruit has the potential to lower cholesterol more effectively than some prescription drugs, and without side effects, according to a study by U.S. and Canadian researchers. A joint study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and KGK Synergize, a Canadian nutraceutical company, identified a class of compounds isolated from orange and tangerine peels that shows promise in animal studies as a potent, natural alternative for lowering LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol), without the possible side effects, such as liver disease and muscle weakness, of conventional cholesterol-lowering drugs. The findings will be described in...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A relatively high amount of fat in the diet may be a boon to a healthy person's cholesterol levels, a small study suggests. On the other hand, limiting fat intake too much could have the opposite effect. Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo found that when 11 healthy but sedentary adults followed a very low-fat diet (19 percent of calories from fat) for three weeks, they saw a drop in their HDL cholesterol -- the "good" cholesterol believed to protect against heart disease. In contrast, three weeks on a diet that...

In the beginning God covered the earth with broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach, green, yellow, and red vegetables of all kinds; so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives. Then using God's bountiful gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's and Krispy Kreme. And Satan said, "You want hot fudge with that?" And Man said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "I'll have another with sprinkles." And lo they gained 10 pounds. And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the...

<p>The future of heart disease treatment is coming into focus with a growing emphasis on potent drug cocktails that fight obesity, help smokers quit, ease inflammation and restore a healthy blood-cholesterol balance.</p> <p>The shift may arrive in time for many aging baby boomers, doctors say, with several promising drugs undergoing pivotal tests in humans.</p>

Alzheimer's disease can seem unrelentingly grim. There is no cure, no known way to prevent the illness, and the benefits of current treatments are modest at best. But in laboratories around the country, scientists are uncovering clues that may eventually — perhaps even in the next two decades — allow them to prevent, slow or even reverse the ruthless progression of the illness. "Things are more hopeful than perhaps people think," Dr. Karen Duff of the Nathan Kline Institute of New York University said. "We are on the cusp of having something really useful." That hope comes on the heels...

An experimental drug can sharply increase levels of H.D.L., the good cholesterol, potentially offering an entirely new way to help prevent heart attacks, researchers have found. In a preliminary study, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Tufts University found that the drug doubled H.D.L., or high density lipoprotein, in people with worrisomely low levels of the cholesterol. The drug, called torcetrapib, also reduced low density lipoprotein, or L.D.L., the bad cholesterol. Until now, doctors have concentrated largely on lowering bad cholesterol by giving patients statin drugs, which are used by millions of Americans and reduce heart attacks by about...

For years, doctors have been saying that to prevent heart disease, patients should pay attention to both the so-called bad cholesterol, or L.D.L., and the good cholesterol, or H.D.L. The good, they said, can counteract the bad. But now, some scientists say, new and continuing studies have called into question whether high levels of the good cholesterol are always good and, when they are beneficial, how much. While some heart experts are not ready to change their treatment advice, others have concluded that H.D.L. should play at most a minor role in deciding whether to prescribe cholesterol-lowering drugs. In the...

Type 2 diabetics may get a health boost from a dash of cinnamon Los Angeles Times A little bit of cinnamon might spice up your health. The aromatic bark can lower blood sugar, triglycerides and cholesterol levels, as well as improve insulin functioning, particularly in Type 2 diabetics, researchers have found. Richard Anderson, lead scientist at the Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Md., calls its medicinal properties the most significant nutritional discovery in 25 years. "I don't know of anything else," he said, other than drugs, "that can change glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol levels nearly so much." The most...

INDIANAPOLIS - Low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets adopted by millions of people hoping to lose weight have contributed to sharply rising egg prices, industry experts agree. Egg prices have spiked across the nation in recent weeks, reaching 20-year highs. Holiday baking and thinning chicken flocks are partly responsible, but protein-conscious dieters, including those on the popular if controversial Atkins diet, have created new demand. "Proteins have gone through the roof, and eggs have gone along for the ride," said Tom Kruchten, a spokesman at the National Agricultural Statistics Service. "Eggs are a heck of a lot cheaper protein than beef." In the...

The first study to compare two powerful cholesterol-lowering drugs head-to-head in coronary artery disease finds that one appears to be superior. In patients taking pravastatin, or Pravachol, made by Bristol-Myers Squibb, atherosclerosis worsened slowly over 18 months. But the disease was halted in those who took the highest dose of atorvastatin, or Lipitor, the drug made by Pfizer. "We saw something extraordinary," said Dr. Steven Nissen, the cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic who directed the study of 502 patients. "All statins are not alike," Dr. Nissen said, adding that with pravastatin, heart atherosclerosis will worsen, but with the highest dose...

ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc.'s top-selling cholesterol drug Lipitor can halt, not just slow, the potentially fatal buildup of plaque in clogged arteries, researchers said on Wednesday. The study is the first solid evidence that a prescription drug can stop the build-up of new plaque and even reverse it in some patients. A handful of drugs now available slow the buildup of new plaque, or atherosclerosis, in coronary arteries. "We were excited we could find a regimen, although an intensive one, that could stop the disease in its tracks," said the lead researcher, Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland...

Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet Drops Weight Atkins-Like Plan Won't Hurt Cholesterol Levels, but Critics Aren't Impressed By Sid Kirchheimer Reviewed By Michael Smith, MD on Tuesday, November 11, 2003 Nov. 11, 2003 -- Is it really possible to lose weight on a no-starch, high-fat diet, similar to Atkins, without hurting cholesterol levels? Apparently so, even for people with heart disease, according to the latest study on the topic. The new study details the effects of a no-starch, high-fat diet on 23 patients at risk for diabetes. All were overweight, were taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, and had been diagnosed with heart disease....

Test Achieves Cholesterol Breakthrough Wed Nov 5, 7:58 AM ET By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer CHICAGO - An experimental treatment that seems to work like "liquid Drano" for clogged arteries stems from remarkably healthy villagers in northern Italy found to have paradoxically lousy cholesterol levels. Scientists think a genetic mutation in HDL cholesterol explains the villagers' good health. And using a synthetic version of that substance, they were able to reduce fatty artery plaque in just six weeks in patients with heart disease. Larger and longer studies are needed to determine if the experimental treatment will translate into fewer...

Embarrassment, Health Issues Prompted Dieting Many people have struggled to drop a few pounds, but what happens when you need to lose several hundred pounds? Several years ago, Steve and Melissa Horstman of Boone County, Ky., decided that they didn't want to live with their weight problems anymore, and they used the emotional pain over being overweight to reach their goals. Melissa and Steve met on the Internet several years ago and soon learned of their common bond: obesity. "When you weigh 150 pounds over, you don't go out and socialize," Melissa said. The couple met, dated and married, but...

The Cholesterol Myths by Uffe Ravnskov, M.D., Ph.D.1. Your cholesterol tells very little about your future healthCholesterol is a peculiar molecule. It is often called a lipid or a fat. However, the chemical term for a molecule such as cholesterol is alcohol, although it doesn't behave like alcohol. Its numerous carbon and hydrogen atoms are put together in an intricate three dimensional network, impossible to dissolve in water. All living creatures use this indissolvability cleverly, incorporating cholesterol into their cell walls to make cells waterproof. This means that cells of living creatures can regulate their internal environment undisturbed by...

<p>Two pharmaceutical distributors have expanded the recall of the cholesterol drug Lipitor to include some repackaged Lipitor products, pending a Food and Drug Administration probe tracking thousands of bottles of counterfeit pills.</p>

WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers and health professionals on Friday to check for three counterfeit lots of the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor that are being recalled by a Kansas City-based distributor. The counterfeit Lipitor posed a potentially significant health hazard and was being voluntarily recalled by Albers Medical Distributors Inc., the FDA said in a statement. Consumers should not take any tablets from packages with labels saying "Repackaged by: MED-PRO, Inc. Lexington, Neb.," with lot numbers 20722V, 04132V and 16942V, the FDA said. All the lots contain 90-tablet bottles. An FDA spokeswoman said...

"Lammentations of a Dieter" Posted by Doc Farmer < http://www.chronwatch.com/site_search.asp?auth=90 > Saturday, May 24, 2003 I've made no secret of the fact that I'm fat, bald, and ugly. For those who think I'm putting myself down, though, I'm not. There's a difference between that and simple honesty of self. If I can't be honest with myself, how can I be expected to be honest with anybody else? That said, though, I don't like being fat. Bald is okay, mind you (thank God for the Gillette Mach 3) and ugly keeps me from being mistaken for a Hollywood type. But fat...

CHICAGO - Multitudes swear by the high-fat, low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, and now a carefully controlled study backs them up: Low-carb may actually take off more weight than low-fat and may be surprisingly better for cholesterol, too. For years, the Atkins formula of sparing carbohydrates and loading up on taboo fatty foods has been blasphemy to many in the health establishment, who view it as a formula for cardiovascular ruin. But now, some of the same researchers who long scoffed at the diet are putting it to the test, and they say the results astonish them. Rather than making cholesterol...

Multitudes swear by the high-fat, low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, and now a carefully controlled study backs them up: Low-carb may actually take off more weight than low-fat and may be surprisingly better for cholesterol, too. For years, the Atkins formula of sparing carbohydrates and loading up on taboo fatty foods has been blasphemy to many in the health establishment, who view it as a formula for cardiovascular ruin. But now, some of the same researchers who long scoffed at the diet are putting it to the test, and they say the results astonish them. Rather than making cholesterol soar, as they...

From The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (see list of contributing authors below). Contact: Paul J. Rosch, MD, New York, USA, stress124@earthlink.net Tel +1-914 963-1200 Barry Groves, PhD, Oxford, UK. Barry@second-opinions.co.uk Tel +44 (0) 1993 830974 Uffe Ravnskov, MD, Lund, Sweden, uffe.ravnskov@swipnet.se Tel +46-(0) 46145022 or +46-(0) 44352086 For immediate release Medical McCarthyismExperts Dispute Opposition to Dietary Fat The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics, a steadily growing group of scientists, physicians, other academicians and science writers from various countries are questioning the common dogma that dietary saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease. Not only is there no proof to...