Health News

Diabetic Death Risk Drops with Statins
People with diabetes have a heightened risk of dying from heart problems. While certain lifestyle changes can protect your heart, some medications may also lower your risk of dying from diabetes-related heart problems.
Antibody Injection Drops Cholesterol
For patients with stubborn cholesterol that is not easily lowered with statins or traditional care, an experimental injection of antibodies may do the trick. It has been found to offer a substantial cholesterol improvement.
Merck Cholesterol Drug Delayed
Drugmaker Merck & Co. announced Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not approve its investigational combination cholesterol-lowering drug.
Take a Liver Test Before Taking Statin Drugs
U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials have announced they will no longer recommend regular liver enzyme testing for patients taking one of several popular cholesterol-lowering drugs such as Lipitor ( atorvastatin ).
FDA Announces Safety Changes In Labeling For Some Cholesterol-lowering Drugs
Important safety changes to the labeling for some widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins are being announced today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These products, when used with diet and exercise, help to lower a person’s “bad” cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol). The products include: Lipitor ( atorvastatin ), Lescol ( fluvastatin ), Mevacor ( lovastatin ), Altoprev ( lovastatin extended-release), Livalo ( pitavastatin ), Pravachol ( pravastatin ), Crestor ( rosuvastatin ), and Zocor ( simvastatin ). Combination products include: Advicor (...
Statins May Help Reduce Influenza Deaths
Flu shots or anti-viral drugs are used to treat influenza, but there may be another possible treatment. Cholesterol-reducing drugs may help reduce deaths in patients hospitalized with the flu.
Here Comes Generic Lipitor
Pharmaceutical company Pfizer loses patent rights to its popular cholesterol lowering medication Lipitor ( atorvastatin calcium) this week. The news means patients will be able to begin purchasing a less-expensive generic version by Thursday.
Experimental Cholesterol Drug Shows Promise
Eli Lily's experimental drug evacetrapib has been shown to raise good cholesterol levels while also decreasing bad cholesterol. It also successfully lowered triglyceride levels.
Reverse Artery Plaque With Medications
Large doses of common cholesterol-lowering medications appear to reverse coronary artery disease by reducing the amount of plaque in clogged arteries.
Cholesterol Drug Assessment 2.0
Doctors generally monitor how well cholesterol lowering drugs are working through simple blood tests. A high tech method that uses MRI scanning may let them peek inside the arteries to evaluate drug effectiveness.