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Statins are drugs used to lower cholesterol. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly. But if you have too much in your blood, it can stick to the walls of your arteries, narrowing or even blocking them.

Enrollment commences in Omthera's Epanova Phase III trial for hypertriglyceridemia

Omthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held emerging specialty pharmaceuticals company, announced today that the first patient has been enrolled in its ESPRIT Phase III clinical trial of Epanova, in patients with hypertriglyceridemia (TG level greater than or equal to 200 and < 500 mg/dL) despite treatment with a statin.

16 Aug 2011

Fibrate drugs may not prevent heart attacks in diabetes patients with elevated cholesterol

Type 2 diabetes patients, who face higher risk of cardiovascular disease, often take a combination of medications designed to lower their LDL or "bad" cholesterol and triglyceride levels while raising their HDL or "good" cholesterol because doctors long have thought that taken together, the drugs offer protection from heart attacks and improve survival.

12 Aug 2011

New research highlights urgent need to develop specific guidelines for HIV-infected children

Children with HIV have persistently high levels of cholesterol and other lipids during treatment with antiretroviral medications, according to a pair of studies in JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

4 Aug 2011

Statins may help protect young people from future strokes

New research indicates cholesterol lowering drugs known as statins may help prevent future strokes among young people who have already had a stroke.

2 Aug 2011

Britain’s prescription drug use statistics revealed

According to latest NHS figures number of prescriptions dispensed has soared by 70 per cent over the last decade. Every man, woman and child in the country received on average 17.8 prescription items in 2010. The vast majority went to those aged over 60, who received 42.4 items each in 2007.

27 Jul 2011

Study: Mail-order pharmacy use linked to improved cardiovascular risk factor outcomes

Kaiser Permanente Northern California patients who obtained new statin prescriptions via a mail-order pharmacy achieved better cholesterol control in the first 3-15 months following the initiation of therapy -- compared to those patients who only obtained their statin prescription from their local Kaiser Permanente Northern California pharmacy.

25 Jul 2011

Localized one-time gene therapy might effectively protect against atherosclerosis

A one-dose method for delivering gene therapy into an arterial wall effectively protects the artery from developing atherosclerosis despite ongoing high blood cholesterol.

21 Jul 2011

Scientists discover cholesterol moves far slower within and between cells

Neutrons have shown the movement of cholesterol between and within cells takes far longer than previously thought. Findings could impact the treatment of a range of diseases linked to abnormal rates of cholesterol transfer.

19 Jul 2011

Zocor, Crestor drugs may cause serious muscle and kidney problems

Crestor and Zocor are widely-used prescription strength drugs designed to lower "bad cholesterol". Both drugs are classified as "statins", medicine which lowers blood cholesterol levels by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase.

16 Jul 2011

Alnylam seeks CTA clearance to initiate ALN-PCS Phase I clinical trial for severe hypercholesterolemia

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has filed a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to initiate a Phase I clinical trial with ALN-PCS, an RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of severe hypercholesterolemia.

11 Jul 2011

EAS, ESC develop new European guidelines to manage dyslipidaemias

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), driven by the global pandemics of obesity and diabetes, poses a daunting challenge to clinicians in the 21st century. Despite progress, there is still much to be done to improve the control of dyslipidaemia, a key risk factor.

28 Jun 2011

High dose statins raise risk of diabetes: Study

According to the latest research taking a high-dose statin to lower cholesterol may increase risk of developing diabetes by as much as 12 percent, but the heart benefits of statins still outweigh the risks.

23 Jun 2011

New-onset diabetes risk increases with intensive-dose statin therapy

An analysis of data from previously published studies indicates that intensive-dose statin therapy is associated with an increased risk of new-onset diabetes compared with moderate-dose therapy, according to a study in the June 22/29 issue of JAMA.

22 Jun 2011

Cholesterol-lowering statins reduce rate of mortality and cardiovascular events

Over the long term, treatment with cholesterol-lowering statins reduces the rate of mortality and cardiovascular events such as heart attack, for people with and without heart disease. Still, it is unclear whether these drugs take effect rapidly when the risk of these dire events is highest.

15 Jun 2011

ESC publishes position paper to raise the profile of vulnerable plaques

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Working Group of Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology has published a position paper to raise the profile of vulnerable plaques and the need for greater use of therapies to promote plaque stabilisation.

15 Jun 2011

Larger trial study needed to decide fate of niacin

Niaspan is a cholesterol drug manufactured by Abbott Laboratories. Doctors have customarily prescribed Niacin to raise levels of HDL ("good" cholesterol) in patients taking a statin pill that is successfully lowering their LDL ("bad" cholesterol).

10 Jun 2011

Merck announces changes to high-dose simvastatin prescribing information in the U.S.

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced changes to the prescribing information in the United States for the highest dose of simvastatin, 80 mg, and the use of simvastatin with certain other medicines.

9 Jun 2011

U.S. FDA announces safety label changes for cholesterol-lowering medication, simvastatin

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today is announcing safety label changes for the cholesterol-lowering medication simvastatin because the highest approved dose--80 milligram (mg)--has been associated with an elevated risk of muscle injury or myopathy, particularly during the first 12 months of use.

9 Jun 2011

New research finds 74% drop in myocardial infarction over 20-year period

Better control of cholesterol levels and blood pressure and a decline in smoking have contributed to a 74% drop in the risk of heart attack among nearly 10,000 civil servants working in London over a 20-year period, according to new research.

9 Jun 2011

Cholesterol drug Niaspan fails to protect heart: Study

According to researchers at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), increasing the dose of niacin to patients with heart disease who are already taking a cholesterol-lowering statin does nothing extra to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Approximately one out of seven Americans have high blood cholesterol, a main risk factor in heart disease, which kills some 800,000 people in the United States annually.

29 May 2011

Statin News and Research

Further Reading

Enrollment commences in Omthera's Epanova Phase III trial for hypertriglyceridemia

Fibrate drugs may not prevent heart attacks in diabetes patients with elevated cholesterol

New research highlights urgent need to develop specific guidelines for HIV-infected children

Statins may help protect young people from future strokes

Britain’s prescription drug use statistics revealed

Study: Mail-order pharmacy use linked to improved cardiovascular risk factor outcomes

Localized one-time gene therapy might effectively protect against atherosclerosis

Scientists discover cholesterol moves far slower within and between cells

Zocor, Crestor drugs may cause serious muscle and kidney problems

Alnylam seeks CTA clearance to initiate ALN-PCS Phase I clinical trial for severe hypercholesterolemia

EAS, ESC develop new European guidelines to manage dyslipidaemias

High dose statins raise risk of diabetes: Study

New-onset diabetes risk increases with intensive-dose statin therapy

Cholesterol-lowering statins reduce rate of mortality and cardiovascular events

ESC publishes position paper to raise the profile of vulnerable plaques

Larger trial study needed to decide fate of niacin

Merck announces changes to high-dose simvastatin prescribing information in the U.S.

U.S. FDA announces safety label changes for cholesterol-lowering medication, simvastatin

New research finds 74% drop in myocardial infarction over 20-year period

Cholesterol drug Niaspan fails to protect heart: Study

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