High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) has been consistently documented as being inversely correlated with the incidence of cardiovascular atherosclerosis and coronary heart diseases. HDL-C clears LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) from the blood circulation and helps reduce the blood level of LDL-C, which has the tendency to adhere to the wall of arteries, causing inflammation and ultimately atherosclerosis. The world’s best selling class of drugs, statins, reduce the level of LDL-C and therefore significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular atherosclerosis. It seems a logical idea that HDL-C could also be used as a therapeutic agent for lowering LDL-C. Has this avenue been ... Read more

The finding that a single deletion of 21 base pairs (7 amino acids) in a gene causes heart attack with a 100% probability was recently reported in Science (Wang L et al., Science 302:1578-1581, Nov. 28, 2003) by a research team led by Drs. Qing Wang and Eric J. Topol of Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH.

The gene is MEF2A, whose protein product controls the development of muscle tissue including the muscle in the wall of coronary arteries. The researchers performed a whole genome analysis on 21 members of a large family with a history of heart disease. The mutated MEF2A ... Read more

Other Names: eplerenone.

Maker: Pfizer.

Disease Treated: Congestive heart failure post-myocardial infarction and hypertension.

Approval Status: Approved for congestive heart failure post-myocardial infarction on October 8, 2003, and for hypertension on September 30, 2002.

Chemical/Biological Nature: INSPRA is a small molecule chemical compound. It has a molecular weight of 414.50 daltons.

Administration: INSPRA is taken orally once or twice daily . For treating congestive heart failure post-myocardial infarction, the recommended starting dose is 25 mg once daily and can be increased to 50 mg once daily. For treating hypertension, the recommended dosage is 50 mg once daily and can be increased to 50 mg twice ... Read more

Other Names: rosuvastatin, ZD4522.

Maker: AstraZeneca.

Disease Treated: Primary hypercholesterolemia (heterozygous familial and nonfamilial), mixed dyslipidemia (Fredrickson Type IIa and IIb), patients with elevated serum triglyceride (TG) levels (Fredrickson Type IV), and homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.

Approval Status: Approved by the U.S. FDA on August 13, 2003.

Chemical/Biological Nature: CRESTOR is rosuvastatin calcium. It is a derivative of enoic acid. It has a molecular weight of 1,001.14 daltons.

Administration: CRESTOR is taken orally. Tablets of 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg are available. Before receiving CRESTOR, patients should use a standard cholesterol-lowering diet and continue on this diet while taking CRESTOR. CRESTOR can be taken as ... Read more

Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific reported on September 24, 2002 and September 26, 2002, respectively, that their drug-coated stents worked in large trial studies. Stents are metal-scaffold devices that can be inserted into narrowed arteries to keep them open. Restenosis, a process whereby the artery can narrow or even close again, can occur in 20-40% of patients treated with the bare metal stent, the only kind of stent currently available.

In the Johnson & Johnson study of 1,100 patients, 36% of the patients who were given the bare stent as controls had restenosis after 9 months compared to only 8.9% of ... Read more

From infections to autoimmune diseases to heart diseases, it is not surprising that inflammation has just been recognized as one of the top health threats.

Inflammation not cholesterol is the number 1 reason behind heart attack and stroke

Scientists and physicians have concluded that persistent low-level inflammation contributes to heart attacks and strokes more than cholesterol does. The revelation prompts a revolutionary departure from thinking that heart attacks and strokes are a mere “plumbing” problem caused by cholesterol clotting the arteries. Scientists have confirmed that while high levels of cholesterol do clot the arteries, it’s the inflammation, which could happen anywhere in ... Read more

Dr. Kenneth Chien, professor of medicine and director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine of the University of California in San Diego, and his colleagues successfully corrected the disease of chronic heart failure in hamsters by gene therapy. Their work was published in Nature Medicine (8:864-871, Aug. 2002).

Chronic heart failure affects more than 4.5 million Americans. Currently, there is no cure for this life-threatening condition. Treatments include heart transplantation and mechanical pump devices, including the new types of artificial hearts that were in the news recently.

Phospholamban (PLN), a calcium-cycling controller, normally regulates the strength of each heartbeat and ... Read more

In one of the biggest business mergers this year, Pfizer, already the biggest pharmaceutical company in the world, announced its intention to buy Pharmacia for $60 billion in an all-stock transaction. The motive behind Pfizer’s aggressive stance is to possess the rights of Pharmacia’s Celebrex, a blockbuster arthritis drug that Pharmacia acquired by purchasing Monsanto a couple of years ago.

Pfizer’s move surprised many given the adverse conditions of the current asset market especially of the pharmaceutical variety. Due to a dry research pipeline, fierce competition from generic makers, and drug pricing pressures from the governments and private buyers, valuations of ... Read more

Myriad Genetics (Salt Lake City, Utah), a genetic test specialist, is planning a big summer campaign to market its cancer gene tests to physicians and patients nationwide. In the last several years, Myriad has been developing and fine-tuning genetic tests for breast, ovarian, colon, uterine, and skin cancers. It believes that its tests are ready for prime-time screening and diagnosis of these cancers. It is estimated that about 5-10% of all cancers may have a genetic predisposition. The tests cost between $745 and $2,760.

But the plan caused concerns among those who are worried that physicians and patients do not know ... Read more

Johnson and Johnson reported last year that it had invented an antibiotic-coated stent for treating clogged arteries with an efficacy of zero percent restenosis, a condition of reclogged artery. The drug used to coat the stent is sirolimus, an antibiotic, that also has the ability to inhibit cell cycling and inflammation. In addition, Johnson and Johnson develops Hepacoat stent, which is coated with the anti-coagulant heparin.

Competitors Boston Scientific, Guidant, and Medtronic are developing stents coated with Paclitaxel, the active ingredient of Taxol, an effective anti-cancer drug. They also achieved results of zero or near zero percent restenosis. Paclitaxel inhibits cell ... Read more