science top stories popular news  

Daily non-political popular news in brief.

Dominant cholesterol-metabolism ideas challenged by new research

08-15-2007 · EurekAlert!

A team of researchers investigating cholesterol and lipid transport has performed experiments that cast serious doubt on the dominant hypothesis of how the body rids its cells of "bad" cholesterol and increases "good" cholesterol. Cholesterol metabolism is an area of intense inquiry because high levels of LDL cholesterol or total cholesterol put about half of all Americans at significant risk of heart disease.

Read more »

Keywords: dominant, cholesterol-metabolism, ideas, challenged, research, cholesterol, metabolism, idea

« Previous | Next »

Similar news on "Dominant cholesterol-metabolism ideas challenged by new research":

  1. Story ideas from the Journal of Lipid Research
    12-03-2007 · EurekAlert!
    The following papers are featured in the upcoming edition of the Journal of Lipid Research: "Genetic Variants Affect Diet-Associated Cholesterol Metabolism"; "Crohn's Disease Increases Progression of Atherosclerosis"; and "Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Bile Acid Disorders."
    Similar news · Read more »
  2. ORNL announces semi-finalists for Nano Idea to Product Competition
    03-02-2007 · Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
    Fifteen teams from 12 universities have been selected to present their new product ideas at the Nano Idea to Product Competition April 2-4, part of a nanotechnology research and industry event to be hosted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
    Similar news · Read more »
  3. News tips from the Journal of Biological Chemistry
    04-26-2007 · EurekAlert!
    Story ideas from the May 4, 2007, issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry include: Cholesterol metabolism without oxygen; Compound effective against blood cancer; Preventing bacteria from talking to each other; and New insight into HIV infection.
    Similar news · Read more »
  4. Story ideas from the Journal of Lipid Research
    09-17-2007 · EurekAlert!
    Story ideas from the October 2007 issue of the Journal of Lipid Research include the study of the health effects of a relatively recent diet called alternate-day fasting; how atorvastatin reduces cholesterol and fat in blood vessels; how nutrition affects the breakdown of fats; and a review of intriguing structures on the surface of fat cells called caveolae.
    Similar news · Read more »
  5. Story ideas from the Journal of Lipid Research
    05-03-2007 · EurekAlert!
    Story ideas from the May 2007 issue of the Journal of Lipid Research include why fish and seafood are better than olive oil and nuts against heart disease; too much cholesterol in a cell organelle can cause heart disease; why Down Syndrome individuals develop Alzheimer's disease earlier than the general population; and how lipids anchor proteins on cell membranes.
    Similar news · Read more »
  6. Factors affecting kernel yield in maize
    12-06-2006 · EurekAlert!
    Research reported in the Plant Cell reveals important aspects of plant metabolism associated with grain filling and kernel yield in maize. The scientific breakthrough of this research is its indication that two closely related isoforms of the cytosolic enzyme glutamine synthetase determine two major and distinct yield components in maize, kernel size and kernel number. The results point to a dominant role of nitrogen retranslocation rather than carbon allocation during grain filling.
    Similar news · Read more »
  7. Advance in understanding of blood pressure gene could lead to new treatments
    02-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
    Research by scientists at UCL (University College London) has clearly demonstrated for the first time the structure and function of a gene crucial to the regulation of blood pressure. The discovery could be important in the search for new treatments for illnesses such as heart disease, the UK's biggest killer. In a paper published online today in Nature Medicine, the team, led by Professor Patrick Vallance and Dr James Leiper, UCL Department of Medicine, reveal the role of the human gene dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), showing that loss of DDAH activity disrupts nitric oxide (NO) production. NO is critical in the regulation of blood pressure, nervous system functions and the immune system. The role of DDAH is to break down modified amino acids (Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and monomethyl arginine (L-NMMA)) that are produced by the body and have been shown to inhibit NO synthase. These molecules accumulate in various disease states including diabetes, renal failure and pulmonary and systemic hypertension, and their concentration in plasma (the fluid component of blood) is strongly predicative of cardiovascular disease and death. In a healthy human body, the majority of ADMA is eliminated through active metabolism by DDAH. Scientists have hypothesised that if DDAH function is impaired, NO production is reduced, and that this could be an important feature of increased cardiovascular risk. To examine this pathway in more detail, the researchers deleted the DDAH gene in mice. These mice went on to develop hypertension, or high blood pressure. They also designed specific inhibitors (small molecules) which bind to the active site of human DDAH. These small molecule inhibitors also induced hypertension in mice, confirming the importance of DDAH in the regulation of blood pressure. Dr Leiper, UCL Medicine, said: “These genetic and chemical approaches to disrupt DDAH showed remarkably consistent results, and provide compelling evidence that loss of DDAH function increases the concentration of ADMA and thereby disrupts vascular NO signalling. “There has been considerable scientific interest in this pathway and the role of ADMA as a novel risk factor, but so far there's been little evidence to support the idea that it's a cause of disease, rather than just a marker. Genes and their pathways are crucial to our understanding of cardiovascular disease and a better understanding of DDAH-1 could lead to important new treatments. “It could help us to establish if genetic variation predisposes certain people to these diseases, or whether environmental factors exert some of their effects through modulation of DDAH activity. “Our research also shows that this pathway could be harnessed therapeutically to limit production of NO in certain situations where too much nitric oxide is a bad thing; for example, hypotension and septic shock. These are some of the biggest problems in intensive care medicine and there is a huge unmet need for drug treatments.” The study, which was carried out at UCL's Rayne Institute, was funded by grants from the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The unexpected finding in the 1980s that a simple gas, nitric oxide (NO), is made by cells in the blood vessel wall and is a powerful control of blood vessel relaxation led to the award of the Nobel Prize in 1998 to its discoverers. "More recently, there has been increasing evidence that impairment of NO production is likely to be an important factor in the development of heart and circulatory disease, but the mechanisms responsible are not fully understood. "This study suggests for the first time that the loss of the activity of the enzyme DDAH-1 leads to reduced NO production and may cause heart and circulatory disease. These findings are likely to be important in the search for new ways to optimise the health of our blood vessels." ### Notes for Editors 1. For more information, please contact Ruth Metcalfe in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 7679 9739, mobile: +44 (0)7990 675 947, out of hours: +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: r.metcalfe@ucl.ac.uk2. 'Disruption of methylarginine metabolism impairs vascular homeostasis' is published in the February issue of the journal Nature Medicine. Advance online publication is embargoed to 18.00 GMT (13.00 US Eastern) Sunday 4 February 2007. Journalists can obtain copies of the paper by contacting the UCL Media Relations Office.3. The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. About UCL Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. In the government's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 59 UCL departments achieved top ratings of 5* and 5, indicating research quality of international excellence. UCL is the fourth-ranked UK university in the 2006 league table of the top 500 world universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UCL alumni include Mahatma Gandhi (Laws 1889, Indian political and spiritual leader); Jonathan Dimbleby (Philosophy 1969, writer and television presenter); Junichiro Koizumi (Economics 1969, Prime Minister of Japan); Lord Woolf (Laws 1954, Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales); Alexander Graham Bell (Phonetics 1860s, inventor of the telephone), and members of the band Coldplay.
    Similar news · Read more »
  8. Story ideas from the Journal of Lipid Research
    01-10-2008 · EurekAlert!
    Metabolic syndrome, a collection of related abnormalities like hypertension, obesity, insulin resistance, and excess cholesterol, poses a major risk for developing heart disease and diabetes. Individuals with a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol can be especially vulnerable to metabolic syndrome, but researchers have now found that blocking the enzyme stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1, which helps synthesize unsaturated fatty acids, greatly improves the profile of FH-mice affected by metabolic syndrome.
    Similar news · Read more »
  9. Computer with brain connections changing quality of life of paralyzed
    11-02-2006 · EurekAlert!
    Fundamental theories regarding consciousness, emotion and quality of life in sufferers of paralysis from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, also known as "Lou Gerhig's disease") are being challenged based on new research on brain-computer interaction. ALS is a progressive disease that destroys neurons affecting movement. The study appears in the latest issue of Psychophysiology. The article reviews the usefulness of currently available brain-computer-interfaces (BCI), which use brain activity to communicate through external devices, such as computers.
    Similar news · Read more »
  10. Americans trail Chinese in understanding another person's perspective
    07-12-2007 · EurekAlert!
    People from Western cultures such as the United States are particularly challenged in their ability to understand someone else's point of view because they are part of a culture that encourages individualism, new research at the University of Chicago shows.In contrast, Chinese, who live in a society that encourages a collectivist attitude among its members, are much more adept at determining another person's perspective, according to a new study.
    Similar news · Read more »