Good cholesterol, renowned for its ability to protect against heart disease, can undergo detrimental changes in protein composition that make it ‘bad’ for the heart, according to a new laboratory study by researchers in Seattle, Wash.

It’s yet another example of how a good thing can go bad: Researchers have found evidence in laboratory studies that ‘good’ cholesterol, renowned for its ability to protect against heart disease, can undergo detrimental changes in protein composition that make it ‘bad’ for the heart.

Older white men who are better able to cope with stress experience higher levels of so-called “good cholesterol” than men who are more hostile or socially isolated, according to a study released at the 115th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association.

With 40 percent of all heart attacks and related cardiovascular problems occurring in people who have low levels of so-called “good” cholesterol, researchers have long sought medications to increase the amount of this type of cholesterol in the body’s circulation.

FDA Warns Consumers to Avoid Red Yeast Rice Products Promoted on Internet as Treatments for High Cholesterol

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that a group of liver enzymes called proprotein convertases (PCs) may be the key to raising levels of good cholesterol (HDL-C).

Family doctors don’t always feel that they can achieve healthy cholesterol levels in their patients even though they are aware of the dangers of cardiovascular disease, according to an international survey of practitioners published in the July issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

Scientists at the University of Bonn, together with colleagues from Romania, have discovered a gene variant that significantly increases the risk of developing gallstones (Hepatology No. 46, 11 July 2007, DOI 10.1002/hep.21847). It is estimated that one in ten Europeans has this variant in their hereditary disposition.

Epidemiologists at the University of Liverpool and the Heart of Mersey have found that approximately half the recent fall in coronary heart disease deaths in the US is due to positive life style changes and a further half to medical therapies.

New discoveries offer promise for developing drugs that improve on the therapeutic profile of niacin, the inexpensive, time-tested B-vitamin that boosts levels of HDL cholesterol - the "good" cholesterol with the potential to protect people against heart attacks and stroke, scientists reported today.