lower-cholesterol-14.matches:
lower cholesterol
A simple computer program for guiding management of cardiovascular risk factors and prescribing.

Hingorani AD, Vallance P.

Centre for Clinical Pharmacology, Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London W1P 9LN. a.hingorani ucl.ac.uk

OBJECTIVE: To describe, and to test against trial data, a simple and flexible computer program for calculating cardiovascular risk in individual patients as an aid to managing risk factors and prescribing drugs to lower cholesterol concentration and blood pressure. DESIGN: Descriptive comparison of actual cardiovascular risk in randomised controlled trials of cholesterol reduction with risk predicted by a computer program based on the Framingham risk equation. Comparison of the program's performance with that of tables and guidelines by means of hypothetical case examples. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Average risk of coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction. RESULTS: The computer program accurately predicted baseline absolute risk in a UK population as well as the relative and absolute reduction in risk from cholesterol lowering for primary prevention of coronary heart disease. The program also allowed a more refined estimate of absolute risk of coronary heart disease than some existing tables and enabled the impact of prescribing decisions to be quantified and costed. CONCLUSIONS: This simple computer program to estimate individuals' cardiovascular disease risk and display the benefits of intervention should help clinicians and patients decide on the most effective packages of risk reduction and identify those most likely to benefit from modulation of risk factors.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9880285&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-15.matches:
lower cholesterol
Bile lithogenicity and gallbladder emptying in patients with microlithiasis: effect of bile acid therapy.

Sharma BC, Agarwal DK, Dhiman RK, Baijal SS, Choudhuri G, Saraswat VA.

Department of Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Biliary cholesterol supersaturation, rapid nucleation of cholesterol, and altered gallbladder motility are prerequisite for gallstone formation. However, the pathogenesis of microlithiasis is not clear. The aim of this study was to determine the abnormalities of gallbladder emptying and bile composition in patients with microlithiasis. METHODS: Nucleation time, cholesterol saturation index (CSI), and gallbladder emptying were studied in patients with microlithiasis (n = 10), patients with gallstones (n = 10), and healthy volunteers (n = 10). Bile analysis was repeated in 6 patients with microlithiasis treated with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) for 8 weeks. RESULTS: Nucleation time was shorter in patients with microlithiasis and those with gallstones than in healthy volunteers (P < 0.0001). Patients with microlithiasis had longer nucleation time than those with gallstones (P < 0.001). There was no difference in cholesterol levels and CSI in gallstone and microlithiasis patients. However, healthy volunteers had lower cholesterol levels (P < 0.01) and CSI (P < 0.01). Patients with microlithiasis had prolongation of nucleation time (P < 0.001) and lowering of CSI (P < 0.001) after UDCA therapy. Gallbladder ejection fraction was higher in microlithiasis patients than in gallstone patients (P < 0.01) but lower than in healthy volunteers (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with microlithiasis have longer nucleation time and better gallbladder emptying than patients with gallstones. Bile abnormalities can be successfully corrected with UDCA therapy in patients with microlithiasis.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9649467&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-15.matches:
lower cholesterol
An investigation of the relationship between estrogen, estrogen metabolites and blood cholesterol levels in ovariectomized rats.

Liu D, Bachmann KA.

Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, University of Toledo, Ohio, USA.

17 beta-Estradiol (E2) has long been known for protecting against coronary heart disease by lowering cholesterol levels in premenopausal women. A recent study in our laboratory suggested that two hydroxylated metabolites of E2 possess similar hypocholesterolemic effects in male rats. This effect has been further investigated with additional estrogen metabolites in ovariectomized rats with a view toward mimicking the true postmenopausal situation in humans. Their effects in reproductive tissues were also evaluated histologically. Fundamentally, the following issues were addressed: (1) Do oxidized metabolites of estradiol lower total cholesterol levels? (2) Can a hypocholesterolemic effect be achieved without eliciting estrogenic activities on reproductive tissues? The results of this investigation showed that a number of oxygenated metabolites of estradiol can lower cholesterol levels. Among them, 4-hydroxyestradiol (4-OHE2) produced a striking hypocholesterolemic effect and a substantial uterotropic effect. 2-Hydroxyestradiol (2-OHE2), 2-methoxyestradiol (2-meoE2) and 2-methoxyestrone (2-meoE1) produced a significant decrease in cholesterol levels at doses that did not produce significant uterotropic effects.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9655903&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-15.matches:
lower cholesterol
Skin test anergy in advanced heart failure secondary to either ischemic or idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Vredevoe DL, Woo MA, Doering LV, Brecht ML, Hamilton MA, Fonarow GC.

School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles 90095-6917, USA.

Skin tests to recall antigens are performed as indicators of clinical outcomes in heart failure (HF). A diminution in the response to recall antigens, termed "anergy," is regarded as an indication of poorer clinical prognosis, although little analysis has been done to support that conclusion. Patients with advanced HF (n=222) in New York Heart Association classes III and IV, with complete datasets for all of the variables, were studied. The sample was 77% men, mean age 52+/-12 years, and left ventricular ejection fraction, 21+/-7. Patients with ischemic (n=113) and idiopathic (n=109) disease were analyzed separately. The relation of anergy to 1-year mortality and selected hemodynamic factors, blood chemistries, medications, and nutritional status markers was analyzed. Anergy was present in 45% (47% idiopathic and 42% ischemic) of patients. Anergy was related to 1-year mortality (univariate p=0.038) in patients with ischemic, but not idiopathic, HF. Anergic patients with ischemic HF had shorter survival times (p=0.035). Lower cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides were predictors (p <0.001) of mortality in idiopathic HF. In ischemic HF, lower cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides were univariate predictors (p <0.001, p=0.004, and p=0.005, respectively) of skin test anergy, but not mortality. Thus, there were distinct differences in clinical correlates of skin test anergy in patients with idiopathic and ischemic HF. This study supports evaluation of anergy to skin tests as one of the markers of mortality in patients with ischemic HF.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9708661&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-10.matches:
lower cholesterol
Cholesterol reduction by glucomannan and chitosan is mediated by changes in cholesterol absorption and bile acid and fat excretion in rats.

Gallaher CM, Munion J, Hesslink R Jr, Wise J, Gallaher DD.

Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.

Glucomannan, a viscous polysaccharide, and chitosan, a derivative of chitin, have both been demonstrated to lower cholesterol in animals. However, the mechanism of cholesterol lowering has not been established for either material. This study was conducted to determine the effect of glucomannan (G), chitosan (CH), or an equal mixture of the two (G + CH) on cholesterol absorption and fat and bile acid excretion. Rats were fed a modified AIN-93G diet for 18 d containing 0.125 g/100 g cholesterol and initially 10 g/100 g of the test materials or cellulose (C) as the control. However, the concentration of test materials and cellulose was reduced to 7.5 g/100 g after 1 wk due to lower weight gain compared with controls. Total liver cholesterol was significantly reduced in G, CH and G + CH groups compared with the C group. The intestinal contents supernatant viscosity of the C and the CH groups was negligible, whereas both G and G + CH produced high viscosities. Cholesterol absorption, measured by the fecal isotope ratio method, was significantly reduced from 37.5% in the C group to 20.2% in G, 18.2% in G + CH and 9.4% in CH. Daily fecal fat excretion did not differ between the C and G groups, but was significantly greater in G + CH and CH compared with the C and G groups. Daily fecal bile acid excretion was significantly greater in the CH and G + CH groups compared with the C and G groups. These results suggest that G lowered liver cholesterol by a viscosity-mediated interference of cholesterol absorption. In contrast, CH appears to lower cholesterol through a different mechanism.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11053517&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-15.matches:
lower cholesterol
Hematology and serum biochemistry values of free-ranging red howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus) from French Guiana.

Vie JC, Moreau B, de Thoisy B, Fournier P, Genty C.

Programme Faune Sauvage, EDF/CNEH, Savoie Technolac, Le Bourget du Lac, France.

One hundred twenty-two wild red howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus) were translocated during flooding of the forest at a hydroelectric dam site in French Guiana. Blood samples from 103 animals were evaluated for 13 hematologic and/or 22 serum chemistry parameters. Significant age-specific variation was found for white blood cell (WBC), lymphocyte, and platelet counts and for alkaline phosphatase values. Adult males and females had significant differences in red blood cell count, packed cell volume, and hemoglobin, creatinine, cholesterol, and calcium values. In juveniles, amylase and cholesterol levels were significantly lower in males than in females. Significant differences associated with reproductive status were also observed; i.e., lower cholesterol level in pregnant females and higher packed cell volume in lactating females. Chronic stress due to habitat disappearance may have been responsible for significant differences between thin animals and those in good condition. Thin animals had lower WBC, eosinophil, basophil, and monocyte counts and higher platelet counts. Capture stress was probably responsible for high and variable levels of creatine kinase, aspartate aminotransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9732027&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-15.matches:
lower cholesterol
Different degrees of moderate iron deficiency modulate lipid metabolism of rats.

Stangl GI, Kirchgessner M.

Institute of Nutritional Physiology, Technical University, Munchen-Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany. stangl pollux.edv.agrar.tu-muenchen.de

Severe iron deficiency affects lipid metabolism. To investigate whether moderate iron depletion also alters lipid variables-including lipid levels in serum and liver, hepatic lipogenesis, and fatty acid composition indicative of an impaired desaturation-we carried out experiments with rats fed 9, 13, and 18 mg iron/kg diet over a total of 5 wk. The study also included three pair-fed control groups and an ad libitum control group, fed with 50 mg iron/kg diet. The iron-depleted rats were classified as iron-deficient on the basis of reduced serum iron, hemoglobin concentration, and hematocrit. All moderately iron-deficient rats had significantly lower cholesterol concentrations in liver and serum lipoproteins than their pair-fed controls. Rats with the lowest dietary iron supply had higher concentrations of hepatic phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), lower activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, malic enzyme and fatty acid synthase, and higher triacylglycerol concentrations in serum lipoproteins than the corresponding pair-fed control rats. Moderate iron deficiency also depressed the serum phospholipid level. Moreover, several consistent significant differences in fatty acid composition of hepatic PC and PE occurred within moderate iron deficiency, which indicate impaired desaturation by delta-9 and delta-6 desaturases of saturated and essential fatty acids. We conclude that lipid variables, including cholesterol in liver and serum lipoproteins as well as fatty acid desaturation, reflect the gradations of iron status best and can be used as an indicator of the degree of moderate iron deficiency.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9778136&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-15.matches:
lower cholesterol
Coronary risk factors of angiographically assessed patients from Syria.

al-Kateb H, Zarzzour W, Shameah M, Juoma M.

Department of Biochemistry, College of Pharmacy, Assad University of Damascus, Syria.

BACKGROUND: Predictors of coronary artery disease in an Arab population had not been defined well. METHODS: We studied 192 male patients with suspected coronary artery disease, who underwent catheterization. We defined definite coronary artery disease as > 50% stenosis in any of three vessels. The effects of age, obesity, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and lipid fractions were assessed by means of univariate and multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS: Coronary artery disease was present in 153 men (80%) and absent from 39 men. Patients without coronary artery disease were slightly younger, thinner, smoked less, and had lower cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B levels than did those who had coronary artery disease. By stepwise regression analysis, the best discriminators were body mass index (P = 0.0004), age (P = 0.0005), smoking (P = 0.014) and the apolipoprotein B:A-I ratio (P = 0.041). The strongest Pearson correlation coefficients for coronary artery disease were the ratio of total: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (r = 0.26), the apolipoprotein B:A-I ratio (r = 0.26), and age (r = 0.25), all P < 0.0005. CONCLUSIONS: In this angiographically evaluated Syrian population, previously recognized, well-known risk factors appeared. Obesity, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and elevated lipid levels are all amenable to correction. Syria should adopt the same secondary prevention strategies as those currently being practiced by non-Arab countries.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9816553&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-15.matches:
lower cholesterol
Cholesterolemia in colorectal cancer.

Forones NM, Falcao JB, Mattos D, Barone B.

Clinical Gastroenterology, Oncology Division, Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP-Escola Paulista de Medicina), SP, Brazil. nora gastro.epm.br

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Colorectal cancer incidence is higher in developed countries. High fat intake is one of the risk factors. However, many studies observed lower cholesterol serum levels on diagnosis of colorectal cancer. The aim of this assay was to study the serum cholesterol levels in patients with colorectal cancer and compare these values with individuals of the same age and sex. METHODOLOGY: Cholesterol serum levels of 85 patients with colorectal cancer were determined. Each of the patients with colorectal cancer were matched with an individual without cancer of the same age and sex. Total cholesterol concentrations were determined using an enzymatic colorimetric method. RESULTS: The mean serum of cholesterol was 183.4 for the colorectal group and 209.7 for the control group. This difference was statistically significant. This difference was more evident in patients with colon cancer and older than 60 years of age. There was no difference between the different Dukes' stage. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggest an association between low blood cholesterol and colorectal cancer. We believe that the lower level of cholesterol observed in these patients is a consequence between the difference of colorectal carcinogenesis.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9840100&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-15.matches:
lower cholesterol
Pigs fed cholesterol neonatally have increased cerebrum cholesterol as young adults.

Boleman SL, Graf TL, Mersmann HJ, Su DR, Krook LP, Savell JW, Park YW, Pond WG.

Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.

Sixty-eight female neonatal pigs selected for seven (Experiment 1) or eight (Experiment 2) generations for high (HG) or low (LG) plasma cholesterol were used to test the hypothesis that neonatal dietary cholesterol fed during the first 4 or 8 wk of postnatal life increases the cholesterol content of the cerebrum in young adulthood following free access to a high-fat (15%), high-cholesterol (0.5%) diet from 8 to 20 or 24 wk of age. Pigs were removed from their dams at 1 d of age and given free access to a sow-milk replacer diet containing 9.5% coconut fat and 0 or 0.5 % cholesterol. All pigs (except four HG and four LG pigs in Experiment 2, which were deprived of cholesterol throughout the study) were fed the high-fat, high-cholesterol diet from 8 wk to termination at 20 or 24 wk of age. Cerebrum weight and cholesterol concentration were higher in pigs fed cholesterol neonatally than in those deprived of cholesterol neonatally in both experiments, but weight and cholesterol concentration were unaffected by genetic line. Cholesterol concentrations in longissimus and semitendinosus muscles and in subcutaneous fat were unaffected by diet or genetic line. We conclude that dietary cholesterol deprivation during the first 4 to 8 wk of life in piglets is associated with lower cholesterol concentration and total content in the young adult cerebrum than in pigs supplemented with cholesterol in early life. These data support previous observations and suggest the possibility of a metabolic need for neonatal dietary cholesterol in normal brain development.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9868199&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol