cholesterol news stories on Newser

As Lipitor Patent Expires, Pfizer Fights to Keep Users

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:25:05 CST

The biggest-selling drug of all time—Lipitor—is now available for production in generic form as Pfizer's patent on the cholesterol-lowering pill expired today, reports AFP . It's such a huge money-maker for Pfizer, however, that the company is rolling out all kinds of discounts and incentives to keep its 9...

Save Your Heart: Walk Before the Big Meal

Rob Quinn — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 03:01:43 CST

The best time to walk off a gut-busting Thanksgiving dinner is at least 12 hours before you eat it, researchers say. Studies have found that light exercise, like a half-hour walk, done 12 to 16 hours before a big meal significantly reduces the post-meal spike in a type of fat...

Pfizer Hopes to Sell Lipitor Over the Counter

John Johnson — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:40:32 CDT

Pfizer hopes to sell an over-the-counter version of its popular cholesterol drug Lipitor, the Wall Street Journal reports. But first it will have to convince a skeptical FDA, which is wary about letting people use such statins without a doctor's supervision. Pfizer loses the patent on Lipitor in November, and...

Boosting 'Good' Cholesterol Doesn't Help, May Hurt

Kevin Spak — Fri, 27 May 2011 13:30:05 CDT

Raising your “good” HDL cholesterol might not be such a good idea. A federally funded study into the effectiveness of the HDL booster niacin has been abruptly cut off, after it became clear that the drug did nothing to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke—and in the...

USDA: Eggs Actually Aren't Cholesterol Bombs

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 06:46:52 CST

The USDA backtracked yesterday on that whole "eggs can be bad for you" thing: Turns out eggs are actually lower in cholesterol and higher in vitamin D than previously thought. Specifically, 14% lower in cholesterol and 64% higher in vitamin D, the department announced in a press release . One large...

How Drinking Leads to Longer Lives

Kate Schwartz — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:51:00 CDT

After plenty of us raised a glass to the news that heavy drinkers live longer than abstainers, we drained that glass ... then got really pensive ... then started wondering, hey, how is that possible? Brian Palmer digs into the mystery for Slate , finding that booze seems to decrease one's risk of...

Eat Some Nuts to Lower Cholesterol

Nick McMaster — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:00:00 CDT

Eating a small amount of peanuts every day can help keep cholesterol within healthy levels, a new study suggests. Regular consumers of nuts of all varieties had lower cholesterol, say researchers who reviewed 25 separate cholesterol studies. Specifically, subjects who ate at least 67 grams of nuts a day had...

Aggressive Treatment Doesn't Help Diabetics

Emily Rauhala — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:39:00 CDT

Rigorous treatment to lower blood pressure or cholesterol below current guidelines does not benefit—and may actually hurt—diabetics, a new study shows. The findings, published online in the New England Journal of Medicine , suggest doctors may have to find new ways to treat diabetic patients. But that's not entirely...

Mona Lisa Suffered Sky-High Cholesterol

Rob Quinn — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 04:00:00 CST

Leonardo da Vinci's model for the Mona Lisa was smiling despite some serious health problems, according to an Italian pathologist applying his knowledge to Renaissance painting. Professor Vito Franco of the University of Palermo says a tumor on her hand and apparent buildups of fatty acids around her eyes show...