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UK Watchdog Calling For Clearer Labelling Compared A Supermarket Salad To A Big Mac
A UK consumer watchdog that is campaiging for clearer food labelling analysed a selection of pre-packed salads from high street supermarkets
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SYNTAX Substudy Shows Positive Outcomes For Left Main Patients Treated With TAXUS(R) Express2(R) Stent System
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announced positive outcomes from a substudy of patients with left main coronary disease who were treated with the TAXUS(R) Express2(R) Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System. SYNTAX-LE MANS is a substudy of the landmark SYNTAX trial, the first randomized, controlled clinical trial to compare percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using the TAXUS Stent to coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in patients with left main disease and/or significant narrowing of all three coronary arteries (three-vessel disease). The substudy data were presented by A. Pieter Kappetein, M.D., Ph.D., at the annual EuroPCR Scientific Program in Barcelona.
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Is It Legitimate To Stop Clinical Trials Early On Account Of Their "Opportunity Costs"?
A provocative debate in this week"s PLoS Medicine examines whether it
Nutrition

UCLA Study Discovers Enzyme That Controls 'Bad' Cholesterol

BACKGROUND: Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is the so-called "bad cholesterol" often linked to medical problems like heart disease and clogged arteries. Cells in the liver produce a specific receptor that sticks to LDL and removes it from the blood, lowering cholesterol levels. Statin drugs also reduce LDL cholesterol levels by boosting cells" production of the receptor. FINDINGS: Using a mouse model, UCLA scientists discovered a new mechanism that controls cells" production of LDL receptor. The team identified an enzyme called Idol that destroys the receptor, permitting more LDL cholesterol to circulate in the blood. In blocking Idol"s activity, the researchers triggered cells to make more receptor and absorb more cholesterol from the body. "We only know of three pathways that regulate the LDL receptor. The first two are already targeted by existing drugs," explained Dr. Peter Tontonoz, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "Idol is the first mechanism discovered in several years that may lead to a new medication designed to control cholesterol levels." IMPACT: The findings suggest that development of a drug that interferes with Idol"s activity could influence cholesterol metabolism and lower levels of bad cholesterol. Doctors could prescribe the new medication in conjunction with statin drugs, which also cut cholesterol levels by targeting a different enzyme linked to the LDL receptor. This could benefit patients that cannot tolerate statin-related side effects. AUTHORS: Tontonoz collaborated with Noam Zelcer, Cynthia Hong and Rima Boyadjian. The research was funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Tontonoz and Zelcer have filed a patent related to the research findings. JOURNAL: The research appears in the June 11 online edition of the journal Science. Elaine Schmidt University of California - Los Angeles


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