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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.

Efficacy of Abbott cholesterol drug in question

A latest study has found that using medication to raise good cholesterol while lowering the bad does NOT translate into fewer adverse cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes. The study was revealed Thursday by the National Institutes of Health and it found that high dosages of Abbott Laboratories' Niaspan failed to prevent heart attacks and boosted the likelihood of a stroke when combined with the popular generic cholesterol pill Simvastatin, also known under the brand name Zocor.

29 May 2011

Interim analysis of AIM-HIGH study affirms positive impact of Niaspan on HDL and triglyceride lipid values

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), disclosed results from an interim analysis of the AIM-HIGH clinical trial.

27 May 2011

NHLBI stops AIM-HIGH combination clinical trial in high blood cholesterol

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health has stopped a clinical trial studying a blood lipid treatment 18 months earlier than planned. The trial found that adding high dose, extended-release niacin to statin treatment in people with heart and vascular disease, did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and stroke.

27 May 2011

Asymptomatic patients do not benefit from CT angiography screening

Coronary computed tomographic angiography, which can detect plaque buildup in heart vessels, is sometimes used as a screening tool to assess the risk for a heart attack. However, the usefulness of the test on low-risk patients who do not have coronary symptoms, such as chest pain, has been unclear.

24 May 2011

McDonald's reacts to protests and calls to fire Ronald

McDonald's Corp has refused to pay heed to the protesters who ask it to assess the impact of its food on childhood obesity, and said its trademark clown Ronald McDonald would be hawking Happy Meals to kids for years to come.

22 May 2011

New study raises doubts about benefits of ezetimibe in patients suffering from high LDL cholesterol

More than 42 million Americans suffer from high cholesterol, and 63 million more have borderline high cholesterol. Over time, high levels of LDL cholesterol, often called "bad cholesterol," build up along the walls of arteries and blood vessels, a process called atherosclerosis, which can lead to a high risk of heart disease, stroke and heart attack.

21 May 2011

Cholesterol drug may help treat mitochondrial diseases

A human drug that both prevents and cures kidney failure in mice sheds light on disabling human mitochondrial disorders, and may represent a potential treatment in people with such illnesses.

20 May 2011

Abbott appreciates FDA Advisory Committee recommendations to retain Trilipix indication for mixed dyslipidemia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today held an Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee to review the results of the ACCORD Lipid study as they relate to the use of fenofibric acid (sold as Trilipix in the United States) in combination with a statin in patients with mixed dyslipidemia and at high risk of heart disease.

20 May 2011

Majority of high-risk heart disease patients have poor adherence to statin treatment

A new study from North Carolina State University shows that the vast majority of patients at high risk for heart disease or stroke do a poor job of taking statins as prescribed. That's especially unfortunate, because the same study shows that taking statins can significantly increase the quality and length of those patients' lives.

13 May 2011

Statins for all over 55: Study

The latest research findings suggest that when assessing the risk of heart problems, offering statins or drugs that lower cholesterol to all over-55s had the same results as testing for cholesterol or blood pressure problems. The authors have also argued it would be simpler and more cost effective.

5 May 2011

Statins can help reduce lung damage in severe abdominal sepsis

Statins may be best known for their ability to reduce cholesterol, but a research report appearing in the May 2011 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows that these same drugs could also play a crucial role in the reduction of lung damage resulting from severe abdominal sepsis and infection.

3 May 2011

Cholesterol-lowering drugs may help clot-busting drugs treat strokes

Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins may help clot-busting drugs treat strokes, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

27 Apr 2011

Alkem, Karo Bio partner to license eprotirome

Karo Bio has entered into a collaboration and license agreement with the Indian pharmaceutical company Alkem Laboratories Ltd.

26 Apr 2011

America’s best loved drugs: Report

According to the latest report from consulting firm IMS Health, Americans are consuming a lot of prescription drugs. And they seem especially fond of those to lower their cholesterol, relieve heartburn, aid in depressive disorders and lessen pain. Overall, however, their spending on such drugs is slowing.

20 Apr 2011

Top-line results from Amarin's AMR101 Phase 3 trial in patients with high triglycerides

Amarin Corporation plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a focus on cardiovascular disease, today reported positive, statistically significant top-line results from its ANCHOR trial for the Company's lead product candidate, AMR101.

18 Apr 2011

Statin prior to major elective surgery can reduce serious kidney injury

Taking a statin before having major elective surgery reduces potentially serious kidney complications, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

12 Apr 2011

Genzyme, Isis present mipomersen phase 3 study data in severe heFH at ACC meeting

Genzyme Corp., a subsidiary of sanofi-aventis Group, and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today that data from two phase 3 studies of mipomersen in patients who had high cholesterol levels while on lipid-lowering therapy were presented at the American College of Cardiology's 60th Annual Scientific Session.

6 Apr 2011