Got high cholesterol? You might want to stay away from air pollution.
That’s the message of a new UCLA study linking diesel exhaust to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which significantly increases one’s risk for heart attack and stroke.

Studies in female monkeys helped raise important questions about hormone therapy that were addressed in a Women’s Health Initiative study reported last week in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Scientists from the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 1 of the University of Granada (Universidad de Granada) have proven that a high cholesterol diet causes changes in gene expression of chicken aortic smooth muscle cells at the early stages of an experimental atherosclerosis. This study associates cholesterol intake with the expression of genes codifying certain proteins, even before the disease is detected on blood vessel walls.

Blocking a single protein with an experimental drug prevented and treated both type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis in laboratory mice that had been fed unhealthy diets and were genetically predisposed to these common killers, according to an article published online at Nature on June 6, 2007.

New research from Newcastle University shows treatment for a shortage of the hormone thyroxine lowers cholesterol, reverses weight gain and reduces the risk factors for heart disease.

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Verona and the Institute G. Gaslini in Genova, Italy, confirms the pivotal role played by Cytomegalovirus infection in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.

Resistin is a small protein secreted by the immune cells monocytes and macrophages, and has been linked to insulin resistance, atherosclerosis, and inflammation. Recently, studies in mice have shown that resistin is present in the mouse hypothalamus and that it is capable of activating specific neurons.

Inflammatory rheumatic disease and smoking independently predict aortic inflammation, suggests study of coronary artery surgery survivors

Scientists from the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) from the University of Navarra investigate whether cardiotrophin 1, a molecule that can be measured in blood, can be used as a diagnostic marker for hypertensive cardiopathy.

Patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), such as heart attack and recent-onset chest pain, remain at considerable risk of experiencing further serious cardiovascular problems despite improvements in care. HDL ("good" cholesterol) has properties that may protect these patients from further complications by reducing plaque in their coronary arteries.

For some patients with high cholesterol, even the most aggressive treatment with statin drugs fails to prevent coronary artery disease. Patients with hyperlipidemia - high LDL or "bad" cholesterol and trigylcerides, and low HDL or "good" cholesterol - and those with a family history of high cholesterol are at a high risk for atherosclerosis, or plaque build up in the coronary arteries, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

An international study using ultrasound technology has found that the most potent cholesterol-lowering drug is also effective at halting early changes in the blood vessels that can lead to atherosclerosis.