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Researchers learn that some 'good
cholesterol' isn't good enough…New article
in the FASEB Journal describes how the
quality of HDL cholesterol is as important
as its type
If you think your levels of "good
cholesterol" are good enough, a new study
published in the December 2008 issue of The
FASEB Journal suggests that you may want to
think again.
In the report, researchers from the
University of Chicago challenge the
conventional wisdom that simply having high
levels of good cholesterol (HDL) and low
levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) is necessary
for good heath.
Instead, they show that the good cholesterol
has varying degrees of quality and that poor
quality HDL is actually bad for you.
"For many years, HDL has been viewed as good
cholesterol and has generated a false
perception that the more HDL in the blood,
the better," said Angelo Scanu, M.D., a
pioneer in blood lipid chemistry from
University of Chicago and first author of
the study.
"It is now apparent that subjects with high
HDL are not necessarily protected from heart
problems and should ask their doctor to find
out whether their HDL is good or bad."
The researchers came to this conclusion
after reviewing published research on this
subject.
In their review, they found that the HDL
from people with chronic diseases such as
rheumatoid arthritis, kidney disease, and
diabetes is different from the HDL in
healthy individuals, even when blood levels
of HDL are comparable.
They
observed that normal, "good," HDL reduces
inflammation, while the dysfunctional,
"bad," HDL does not.
"This is yet one more line of research that
explains why some people can have perfect
cholesterol levels, but still develop
cardiovascular disease," said Gerald
Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The
FASEB Journal.
"Just as the discovery of good and bad
cholesterol rewrote the book on cholesterol
management, the realization that some of the
'good cholesterol' is actually bad will do
the same."
###
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, approximately 17
percent of all American adults have high
total cholesterol, putting them at risk for
heart disease.
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance
used by the body to maintain the proper
function of cell membranes and is
encapsulated within two types of proteins as
it travels in the body—low density
lipoproteins (LDL) and high density
lipoproteins (HDL).
High levels of LDL or total cholesterol are
an indicator of increased risk for heart
disease. High blood cholesterol elicits no
physical symptoms, making medical screenings
necessary for detection.
The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org)
is published by the Federation of American
Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)
and is the most cited biology journal
worldwide according to the Institute for
Scientific Information.
FASEB comprises 21 nonprofit societies with
more than 80,000 members, making it the
largest coalition of biomedical research
associations in the United States.
FASEB advances biological science through
collaborative advocacy for research policies
that promote scientific progress and
education and lead to improvements in human
health
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