News by Subject Medicine & Health

A dash of milk could make all the difference to a healthy heart as new research from the University of South Australia finds that people who regularly consume milk have a lower risk of heart disease.

Press materials are now available for NUTRITION 2021 LIVE ONLINE, a dynamic virtual event showcasing new research findings and timely discussions on food and nutrition. The online meeting will be held June 7-10, 2021.

Individuals with genetic high cholesterol, heart disease or both, who were infected with COVID-19 had more heart attacks according to new research by the FH Foundation. While previous studies have speculated about poorer outcomes if a person with genetic high cholesterol - called familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) contracts COVID-19, this study from the FH Foundation's national healthcare database is the first to demonstrate higher heart attack rates in the real world.

The blood-brain barrier is impermeable to cholesterol, yet high blood cholesterol is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. However, the underlying mechanisms mediating this relationship are poorly understood. A study published in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Vijay Varma and colleagues at the National Institute on Aging, suggests that disturbances in the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids may play a role in the development of dementia.

Base editing is a novel gene editing approach that can precisely change individual building blocks in a DNA sequence. By installing such a point mutation in a specific gene, an international research team led by the University of Zurich has succeeded in sustainably lowering high LDL cholesterol levels in the blood of mice and macaques. This opens up the possibility of curing patients with inherited metabolic liver diseases.

New research from the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute in Salt Lake City finds that higher EPA blood levels alone lowered the risk of major cardiac events and death in patients, while DHA blunted the cardiovascular benefits of EPA. Higher DHA levels at any level of EPA, worsened health outcomes.

People with extremely high levels of triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood) and a specific genetic profile saw a substantial reduction in triglycerides after taking the human monoclonal antibody evinacumab compared with those taking a placebo, in a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session.