Related topics: heart disease , heart attack , blood pressure , patients , cardiovascular disease
Cholesterol
hideCholesterol is a lipidic, waxy steroid found in the cell membranes and transported in the blood plasma of all animals. It is an essential component of mammalian cell membranes where it is required to establish proper membrane permeability and fluidity. Cholesterol is the principal sterol synthesized by animals, but small quantities are synthesized in other eukaryotes, such as plants and fungi. It is almost completely absent among prokaryotes, which include bacteria. Cholesterol is classified as a sterol.
Since cholesterol is essential for life, it is primarily synthesized de novo within the body. However excessive levels of cholesterol in blood circulation are strongly associated with progression of atherosclerosis. For an adult, typical total body cholesterol synthesis is about 1 gram per day (less if dietary intake is high) and total body cholesterol content is about 35 g. Average dietary intake in western societies is 0.2 - 0.3 grams. Cholesterol is excreted by the liver via the bile into the digestive tract. Typically about 50% of the excreted cholesterol is reabsorbed by the small bowel back into the blood stream.
The name cholesterol originates from the Greek chole- (bile) and stereos (solid), and the chemical suffix -ol for an alcohol, as François Poulletier de la Salle first identified cholesterol in solid form in gallstones, in 1769. However, it was only in 1815 that chemist Eugène Chevreul named the compound "cholesterine".
For more information about Cholesterol, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with cholesterol
Good cholesterol not as protective in people with type 2 diabetes
Dec 21, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
High-density lipoprotein (HDL), known as "good" cholesterol, isn’t as protective for people with type 2 diabetes, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Why we outlive our ape ancestors
Dec 02, 2009 |
4 / 5 (5) |
0
In spite of their genetic similarity to humans, chimpanzees and great apes have maximum lifespans that rarely exceed 50 years. The difference, explains USC Davis School of Gerontology Professor Caleb Finch, is that as humans ...
Latest epidemic? High cholesterol, obesity in fruit flies
Dec 02, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
How do fruit flies get high cholesterol and become obese? The same way as people do - by eating a diet that's too rich in fats.
Feeding the clock: Cycles of feeding and fasting drive circadian gene expression in the liver
Nov 25, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
0
When you eat may be just as vital to your health as what you eat, found researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Their experiments in mice revealed that the daily waxing and waning of thousands ...
Intensive therapy for narrowed arteries linked to fewer heart events
Dec 15, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Intensive medical therapy, including aggressive control of blood pressure and cholesterol levels, for patients with asymptomatic plaque buildup in their carotid arteries (which supply blood to the brain) appears to be associated ...
Low cholesterol transfer protein activity associated with heart disease risk
Dec 15, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Although seen as a potential heart disease therapy, raising high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels by inhibiting activity of a transfer protein may not be effective, a new study suggests. Scientists at the Jean ...
Debunking myths about warm-ups, eggs
May 29, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (21) |
2
There are so many things to worry about these days. Wouldn't it be nice to cross something off the list? Turns out you can. Researchers have been busy debunking some common medical myths that have been repeated so many times, ...
No need to fast for cholesterol test
Nov 13, 2009 |
5 / 5 (8) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Patients do not need to fast before having their cholesterol tested, a major study has found.
Genetically engineered mice don't get obese (w/Podcast)
May 07, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
2
Obesity and gallstones often go hand in hand. But not in mice developed at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Even when these mice eat high-fat diets, they don't get fat, but they do develop ...
Type 2 Diabetes Rears Its Ugly Head Long Before Diagnosis
May 14, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (14) |
0
Signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes can present themselves as long as 10 years before diagnosis and most people have no idea before the damage is done.
FDA confirms benefits of Crestor in more patients
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 11, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
(AP) -- Federal scientists say AstraZeneca's cholesterol pill Crestor lowers the risk of heart attack, death and stroke in patients without a history of heart disease, though some safety concerns remain.
Scientists ID ten genes associated with a risk factor for sudden cardiac death
Mar 22, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- One minute, he's a strapping 40-year-old with an enviable cholesterol level, working out on his treadmill. The next, he's dead.
Natural Oils Can Be Hydrogenated Without Making Unhealthy Trans Fats
Jan 23, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (7) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- To prolong the shelf life of foods, manufacturers often add hydrogen to natural oils, a process called hydrogenation. But hydrogenation also results in the production of trans fats, which have adverse health ...
Researchers identify compound that frees trapped cholesterol
Jan 26, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
0
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified in mice a compound that liberates cholesterol that has inappropriately accumulated to excessive levels inside cells.
Free e-samples of prescription drugs: At what cost?
Nov 25, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Search the Internet to learn about your asthma, high cholesterol or other common disorder, and odds are you'll be directed to a pharmaceutical company-sponsored Web homepage. There you'll often find an offer for a free sample ...
