Blood disc for astronaut diagnosis

Specially designed to operate in weightlessness, this diagnostic disc can identify diabetes, cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol from a single drop of astronaut blood.

A heart-healthy protein from bran of cereal crop

Foxtail millet is an annual grass grown widely as a cereal crop in parts of India, China and Southeast Asia. Milling the grain removes the hard outer layer, or bran, from the rest of the seed. Now, researchers have identified ...

page 1 from 3

Hypercholesterolemia

Hypercholesterolemia (literally: high blood cholesterol) is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. It is not a disease but a metabolic derangement that can be secondary to many diseases and can contribute to many forms of disease, most notably cardiovascular disease. It is closely related to the terms "hyperlipidemia" (elevated levels of lipids) and "hyperlipoproteinemia" (elevated levels of lipoproteins).

Elevated cholesterol in the blood is due to abnormalities in the levels of lipoproteins, the particles that carry cholesterol in the bloodstream. This may be related to diet, genetic factors (such as LDL receptor mutations in familial hypercholesterolemia) and the presence of other diseases such as diabetes and an underactive thyroid. The type of hypercholesterolemia depends on which type of particle (such as low density lipoprotein) is present in excess.

High cholesterol levels are treated with diets low in cholesterol, medications, and rarely with other treatments including surgery (for particular severe subtypes). This is also increased emphasis on other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA