Close X
Saturday, November 30, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Lowering cholesterol with drugs good for heart: Study

Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Nov, 2014 11:39 AM
    A popular but controversial cholesterol drug called Ezetimibe has been found to lower the number of cardiovascular events by 6.4 percent when administered with another cholesterol drug, a new research says.
     
    "The question that everyone had was, would this added lowering of LDL cholesterol translate into a real clinical benefit," said cardiologist Christopher Cannon from the Brigham and Women's Hospital in the US.
     
    "The answer is yes," Cannon added.
     
    The trial that Cannon presented at the American Heart Association's meeting in Chicago, Illinois, Monday had enrolled more than 18,000 patients and took nine years to complete.
     
    Ezetimibe reduces cholesterol absorption by inhibiting the activity of a protein called NPC1L1, which transports free cholesterol into cells.
     
    When combined with a statin, another cholesterol-lowering drug, Ezetimibe lowered cholesterol by an extra 20 percent compared to the statin alone, a report in the scientific journal Nature stated.
     
    In 2008, researchers found that the drug Ezetimibe had no impact on the thickness of artery walls in the neck and thigh - a measure of fatty plaque build-up.
     
    This plaque build-up is thought to contribute to heart disease by restricting blood flow.
     
    Hopes for Ezetimibe were bolstered last week when a genetic analysis of 7,364 people with heart disease and 14,728 controls found that people who had a rare mutation that inactivates the NPC1L1 protein had lower LDL cholesterol levels and a lower risk of coronary heart disease.
     
    "The study affirms the central role of intensive LDL reduction in the prevention of recurrent cardiovascular events," said Neil Stone, a cardiologist at the Northwestern University in Chicago.
     
    But Stone warned that the trial was carried out in high-risk patients, a common practice used to boost the likelihood of cardiovascular events.
     
    "The data does not speak of the use of Ezetimibe in patients with low risk," he added.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Learn How To Melt Stubborn 'Love Handles'

    Learn How To Melt Stubborn 'Love Handles'
    Call it love handles, the spare tyre or the middle age spread - a lot of people struggle to do away with their extra fat around waistline. Thanks to a new way to burn energy from food, you could soon be able to do so with some “stress”.

    Learn How To Melt Stubborn 'Love Handles'

    Fatty Foods May Harm Men More Than Women

    Fatty Foods May Harm Men More Than Women
    Women who love fatty foods can take solace from a study that suggests gorging on high-fat meals may make men more vulnerable to diseases than women.

    Fatty Foods May Harm Men More Than Women

    Enterovirus D68 Kills BC Man With Asthma

    Enterovirus D68 Kills BC Man With Asthma
    VANCOUVER - A young man from Metro Vancouver is the first known fatality in Canada linked to the enterovirus D68 infection.

    Enterovirus D68 Kills BC Man With Asthma

    UN Document Admits WHO Badly Fumbled Response To Ebola

    UN Document Admits WHO Badly Fumbled Response To Ebola
    In a draft document, the World Health Organization has acknowledged that it botched attempts to stop the now-spiraling Ebola outbreak in West Africa, blaming factors including incompetent staff and a lack of information.

    UN Document Admits WHO Badly Fumbled Response To Ebola

    A new drug to soon better treat heart attack

    A new drug to soon better treat heart attack
    Some scar-forming cells in the heart have the ability to become cells that form blood vessels required to boosts the heart's ability to heal after an injury...

    A new drug to soon better treat heart attack

    Females sex hormone key to warding off lung infections

    Females sex hormone key to warding off lung infections
    Females have been known to be naturally more resistant to respiratory infections than males. Now, scientists have shown that the increased resistance to....

    Females sex hormone key to warding off lung infections