Cholesterol lowering drugs may prevent degenerative eye disease (macular degeneration)August 14, 2003Statins, the drugs used to lower blood cholesterol, may help prevent the degenerative eye disease known as age related maculopathy or macular degeneration, finds research in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. Macular degeneration is a major cause of irreversible visual impairment among adults in the UK and USA. Sufferers do not go blind, but find it virtually impossible to read, drive, or do tasks requiring fine, sharp, central vision. It is caused by the progressive break down of light sensitive cells in the macula, located in the centre of the retina at the back of the eye. Risk increases with age, and as yet there is no effective curative or preventive treatment. Smokers are thought to be more susceptible. US researchers assessed 550 people newly diagnosed with macular degeneration and 5500 randomly selected people at one veterans’ medical facility between 1997 and 2001. All those taking part in the study were aged 50 or older. All those with macular degeneration were significantly more likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure, or vascular disease, but there were no differences between them and the comparison group in terms of arterial disease or lipid metabolism disorders. An overview of the drugs they had been prescribed showed that those with macular degeneration were 50% less likely to have been prescribed statins than those without. This was irrespective of whether patients were taking statins at the time or had taken them in the past, or what other medical conditions they had. The association was not found for sole use of other types of cholesterol lowering drugs. The authors caution that these are preliminary findings, and that a further long term trial is needed to investigate the effectiveness of statins in the treatment and prevention of macular degeneration. British Medical Journal (BMJ) |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Cholesterol Current Events and Cholesterol News Articles Genetic analysis helps dissect molecular basis of cardiovascular disease Using highly precise measurements of plasma lipoprotein concentrations determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), researchers led by Daniel Chasman at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, the Framingham Heart Study in Framingham, and the PROCARDIS consortium in Stockholm, Sweden and Oxford, England performed genetic association analysis across the whole genome among 17,296 women of European ancestry from the Women's Genome Health Study. New understanding about mechanism for cell death after stroke leads to possible therapy Scientists at the Brain Research Centre, a partnership of the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, have uncovered new information about the mechanism by which brain cells die following a stroke, as well as a possible way to mitigate that damage. Dispensing prescription drugs in 3-month supplies reduces drug costs by a third Purchasing prescription drugs in a three-month supply rather than a one-month supply has long been regarded as a way to reduce the cost of drugs for patients and third-party payers. New research from the University of Chicago quantifies the savings for the first time. The Protein Srebp2 Drives Cholesterol Formation in Prion-Infected Neuronal Cells Which May Promote Prion-Dependent Diseases The regulating protein Srebp2 drives cholesterol formation, which prions need for their propagation, in prion-infected neuronal cells. Pivotal study for PSD502 -- the first potential treatment for premature ejaculation At the annual meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA), Inc. in San Diego, Sciele Pharma, Inc., a Shionogi Company and Plethora Solutions Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Plethora Solutions Holdings PLC ("Plethora" - AIM:PLE)., today presented data from its second positive pivotal study of PSD502 for the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE). Night Beat, Overtime and a Disrupted Sleep Pattern Can Harm Officers' Health A police officer who works the night shift, typically from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., already is at a disadvantage when it comes to getting a good "night's" sleep. Vitamin B niacin offers no extra benefit to statin therapy in seniors already diagnosed with CAD The routine prescription of extended-release niacin, a B vitamin (1,500 milligrams daily), in combination with traditional cholesterol-lowering therapy offers no extra benefit in correcting arterial narrowing and diminishing plaque buildup in seniors who already have coronary artery disease, a new vascular imaging study from Johns Hopkins experts shows. Heart and bone damage from low vitamin D tied to declines in sex hormones Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone. Early end to key study on benefits of niacin, a B vitamin, in keeping arteries open was premature Heart experts at Johns Hopkins are calling premature the early halt of a study by researchers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Washington Hospital Center on the benefits of combining extended-release niacin, a B vitamin, with cholesterol-lowering statin medications to prevent blood vessel narrowing. oo much selenium can increase your cholesterol A new study from the University of Warwick has discovered taking too much of the essential mineral selenium in your diet can increase your cholesterol by almost 10%. More Cholesterol Current Events and Cholesterol News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||