Not only does this material offer a possible, easy new way to treat cardiovascular disease
A new type of “good cholesterol,” made in the lab, could one day deliver drugs to where they are needed in the body to treat disease or be used in medical imaging, according to scientists. Their report on the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) mimic, which is easy to make in large amounts, appears in the journal ACS Nano.
Zahi A. Fayad, Robert Langer, YongTae (Tony) Kim, Francois Fay, Willem Mulder and colleagues explain that HDL is a natural nanoparticle that carries cholesterol throughout the body. Because it acts like a scavenger, collecting cholesterol and taking it to the liver for breakdown, HDL has emerged from being simply a marker for cardiovascular disease — the number one killer of men and women in America — to being a therapeutic agent. Clinical trials are testing its potential to combat atherosclerosis, the build-up of plaques in blood vessels that can lead to heart attacks or strokes. Scientists are also exploring new ways to use it for drug delivery. But HDL is complex and comes in many varieties. It takes several labor-intensive steps to get a uniform collection of these particles with current methods, which aren’t easily scaled up for clinical applications. That’s why Fayad and Langer’s groups devised a new and improved method for making HDL-like particles.
The scientists showed that microfluidics — the same technology that enabled the invention of inkjet printers — allowed them to make material called µHDL that looks and acts like HDL in a single, rapid step. Not only does this material offer a possible, easy new way to treat cardiovascular disease, but the researchers also attached drug compounds, as well as dyes and nanocrystals used in medical imaging (such as those used for MRIs and CT scans), to the particles.
Go deeper with Bing News on:
HDL mimic
- Testosterone, HDL and Cardiovascular Risk in Men
Clin Lipidology. 2012;7(4):363-365. The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the ...
- Reduce HDL cholesterol to combat infertility: Study
The researchers also noted that serum opacity factor's dramatic action on HDL could be leveraged as a potential alternative to statins, which are the current gold standard for lowering cholesterol ...
- Way to reverse infertility is by reducing HDL cholesterol: Research
The researchers also noted that serum opacity factor's dramatic action on HDL could be leveraged as a potential alternative to statins, which are the current gold standard for lowering cholesterol ...
- Cholesterol and Alcohol
Many believe that the main benefit of alcohol comes from its ability to raise HDL cholesterol levels (the “good” type that helps sweep cholesterol deposits out of your arteries and protects ...
- Researchers discover way to reverse infertility by reducing HDL cholesterol
Scientists reversed infertility in sterile mice by reducing HDL cholesterol with a bacterial protein in a promising development that shows further evidence linking high cholesterol to female ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
HDL mimic
[google_news title=”” keyword=”HDL mimic” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Good cholesterol
- Health Beat: When 'good' cholesterol isn't enough
Ohio State researcher Sara Koenig and her colleagues identified a rare genetic mutation that effects how so-called “good” cholesterol works in the body. “We did whole genome sequencing and identified ...
- Health Experts Weigh In: Is Butter Good or Bad for Cholesterol?
This article explores the nutritional benefits and risks of butter consumption, as well as advice from three experts in the field of nutrition and dietetics. The experts discuss the high calorie and ...
- The Kitchen Staple That's Surprisingly Good for Your Health
Incorporating up to an ounce of apple cider vinegar into your day, along with a lower calorie diet, may reduce total cholesterol and triglycerides while also increasing HDL "good" cholesterol. Those ...
- Losing weight is good for your health – even if you regain it
People who have obesity and lose weight through behavioural weight loss programmes have lower risks for heart disease and type 2 diabetes years later, despite regaining some weight ...
- Medical Moment: How your genes can affect heart health, cholesterol
For one man, “good” wasn’t good enough, and that finding could someday change how doctors treat high cholesterol. 41-year-old Marcus Wright eats right, and he’s been active his whole life.
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Good cholesterol
[google_news title=”” keyword=”good cholesterol” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]