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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
Debunking myths about warm-ups, eggs
May 29, 2009 |
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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, ...
Type 2 Diabetes Rears Its Ugly Head Long Before Diagnosis
May 14, 2009 |
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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.
Genetically engineered mice don't get obese (w/Podcast)
May 07, 2009 |
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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 ...
Scientists ID ten genes associated with a risk factor for sudden cardiac death
Mar 22, 2009 |
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(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.
Researchers identify compound that frees trapped cholesterol
Jan 26, 2009 |
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Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified in mice a compound that liberates cholesterol that has inappropriately accumulated to excessive levels inside cells.
Natural Oils Can Be Hydrogenated Without Making Unhealthy Trans Fats
Jan 23, 2009 |
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(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 ...
Biophysicists create new model for protein-cholesterol interactions in brain and muscle tissue
Biology /
Sep 26, 2008 |
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Biophysicists at the University of Pennsylvania have used 3,200 computer processors and long-established data on cholesterol's role in the function of proteins to clarify the mysterious interaction between ...
Why we outlive our ape ancestors
Dec 02, 2009 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 ...
No need to fast for cholesterol test
Nov 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Patients do not need to fast before having their cholesterol tested, a major study has found.
Common Gene Mutation Linked to Statin Side Effects
Oct 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Common genetic mutations may help explain why some people develop side effects that lead to discontinuing the use of cholesterol-lowering statins. Duke University Medical Center researchers who identified ...
Triple heart threat cuts decade off lifespan: study
Sep 17, 2009 |
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Middle-aged male smokers with high cholesterol and blood pressure die, on average, a decade sooner than peers without any of these heart disease risk factors, according to a study published Friday.
Researchers find possible use for the vine that ate the South
Sep 03, 2009 |
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Kudzu, the fast-growing vine that has gobbled up some 10 million acres in the Southeast, may prove to be a valuable dietary supplement for metabolic syndrome, a condition that affects 50 million Americans, say researchers ...
'Fatostatin' is a turnoff for fat genes
Aug 27, 2009 |
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A small molecule earlier found to have both anti-fat and anti-cancer abilities works as a literal turnoff for fat-making genes, according to a new report in the August 28th issue of the journal Chemistry and Biology, a Cell ...
