Effects of glycemic load on metabolic risk markers... [Am J Clin Nutr. 2010] - PubMed result

A recent study suggests that diet with a decreased Glycemic Load does not ameliorate metabolic risk markers such as fasting plasma glucose, insulin , serum total cholesterol , LDL-cholesterol , HDL-cholesterol ,triacylglycerol, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, monocyte chemoattractant protein and prothrombotic plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 in overweight subjects. This means that such subjects should concentrate on reducung weight and cholesterol rather than restricting sugar intake. Effects of glycemic load on metabolic risk markers... [Am J Clin Nutr. 2010] - PubMed result

LDL cholesterol levels

The latest ATP III guidelines now recommend that LDL cholesterol levels be brought below 100 mg/dL in high-risk and moderate risk patients and that consideration should be given to lowering it to < 70 mg/dL in high risk individuals. To assess your cardiac risk see http://heartdisease.about.com/od/assessyourrisk/a/assessrisk.htm .

Fatty acids profile of edible oils and fats in our diet in India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Indian_refined_oils_safe_for_cooking/articleshow/4078251.cms

http://www.morungexpress.com/express_review/13494.html

http://www.cseindia.org/oil/soyabean.htm

Download the following pdf file and see Annexure II pages 38-40

http://www.cseindia.org/oil/fatty_acids_profile.pdf

Pitavastatin- a potent statin which inhibits HMG-CoA reductase and decreases LDL-cholesterol levels even at low dosages.

In Japan, Pitavastatin was approved in July 2003 and launched under the brand name Livalo in September of the same year. In Japan, Livalo is categorized as a potent statin which inhibits HMG-CoA reductase and decreases LDL-cholesterol levels even at low dosages. Kowa estimates that Livalo sales in Japan will achieve USD 300M in fiscal 2008.

Kowa Company, Ltd. (Kowa), headquartered in Nagoya, Japan, today announced that Kowa has submitted a New Drug Application dated October 1 to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Pitavastatin Calcium tablets (Pitavastatin) for the treatment of primary hyperlipidemia and mixed dyslipidemia, through its US subsidiary, Kowa Research Institute, Inc. (KRI), located in North Carolina.
Once approved, the novel compound will be launched under the brand name Livalo (name subject to approval by the FDA) by Kowa through Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. (KPA), a recently acquired US subsidiary located in Montgomery, Alabama. KPA, formerly known as ProEthic Pharmaceuticals Inc., and acquired by Kowa in July 2008, changed its name effective September 1, 2008. A Marketing Authorization Application for Pitavastatin was also filed in 16 EU countries on August 29, 2008 with their respective regulatory agencies including the United Kingdom's Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) who is acting as Reference Member State (RMS).

(Additional information available on http://www.kowapharma.com ).

rosuvastatin reduces the risk of cardiovascular events by 54% in people who do not have high cholesterol level after 2 years

The JUPITER (Justification for the Use of Statins in Primary Prevention Intervention) trial has shown that rosuvastatin reduces the risk of cardiovascular events by 54% in people who do not have high cholesterol level but have raised high sensitive C reactive protein. The trial was scheduled for a follow up of 4 years, but after nearly two years as there was a significant reduction in the primary end point at two years tyhe trial was stopped.

The original research article and an editorial was recently published in NEJM. There are two important issues regarding the results of this trial

1. Long term safety of rosuvastatin is not yet established. If we are going to start rosuvastatin for a low risk subject without any clinical disease for primary prevention, he will be taking it for a long period say 20 years. In such case without long term safety being established, it should not be advised.

2. Secondly the patency of rosuvastatin is now held by Astra Zeneca and the drug is very costly now. If this protective effect is a class effect then the cheaper statins which have become generic can be substituted.