BiotechMashup

People whose "bad" cholesterol and risk of future heart disease stay too high despite cholesterol-lowering statin therapy can safely lower it by adding a drug that mimics the action of thyroid hormone.

(North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System) An experimental thyroid drug reduces cholesterol without the troublesome side effects experienced by some people on statins, according to a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. An international team of investigators at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, the Karolinska University Hospital and Institute, and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research tested a substance called Eprotirome in patients with high cholesterol.

A drug that raises levels of 'good' cholesterol, when taken in addition to standard statin therapy to lower 'bad' cholesterol, can reduce the furring up of arteries in patients with established heart disease, a new study has shown.

High levels of "bad" cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) are a risk factor for developing a disease of the major arterial blood vessels that is one of the major causes of heart attack and stroke. New human genetic and mechanistic studies have now identified the protein MYLIP (also known as IDOL) as a potential new target for an LDL cholesterol-lowering therapeutic.

Scientists have discovered why a newly found form of cholesterol seems to be 'ultra-bad', leading to increased risk of heart disease. The discovery could lead to new treatments to prevent heart disease particularly in people with type 2 diabetes and the elderly.

(Duke University Medical Center) Statins can be effective at lowering cholesterol, but they have a perplexing tendency to work for some people and not others. Gut bacteria may be the reason.

More intensive treatment using statin drugs to lower levels of bad cholesterol leads to even greater reductions in the risk of a heart attack or stroke than with regular statin doses, according to new research.

The so-called "bad cholesterol" -- low-density lipoprotein commonly called LDL -- may not be so bad after all, according to a new study that casts new light on the cholesterol debate, particularly among adults who exercise.

A combination drug that lowers levels of 'bad' cholesterol in the blood can benefit people with chronic kidney disease and is safe, a new study suggests.