May 27, 2011
New ‘ultrabad’ cholesterol under the microscope
Our scientists, working
on a newly found form of cholesterol have found it could lead to
increased heart disease risk. This ’ultrabad’ cholesterol is more
common in people with type 2 diabetes and elderly people.
The researchers discovered that this 'ultrabad' cholesterol
seems to ‘stick’ more easily to the walls of blood vessels than
harmful, or LDL (low density lipoprotein),
cholesterol. This could contribute to the build up of
the fatty plaques that cause heart
attacks and strokes.
Diabetes is what happens when your
body doesn’t produce enough insulin, leading to
high glucose (sugar) levels in your blood. Type two diabetes is the
most common type, and tends to develop gradually as people get
older. It's especially common in the UK's South Asian
population.
This study is an important step in the right direction
Our
scientists at the University of Warwick investigated
‘ultrabad’ cholesterol in the lab. They found that ultrabad
cholesterol is made in the body by adding a sugar
molecule to harmful LDL cholesterol. This changes the
shape of the cholesterol, making it more likely to
‘stick’ to blood vessel walls.
BHF-funded researcher Dr Naila Rabbani, who led
the study, said:
“We’re excited to see our research leading to a greater
understanding of this type of cholesterol, which seems to
help cause heart disease in diabetics and elderly people.
“The next challenge is to tackle this more dangerous type of
cholesterol with treatments that could help neutralise its
harmful effects on patients’ arteries.”
Dr Shannon
Amoils, one of our Research Advisors, said:
“We’ve known for a long time that people with
diabetes are at greater risk of heart attack and stroke. There is
still more work to be done to untangle why this is the case, but
this study is an important step in the right
direction.”
The research was published in the journal Diabetes.
If you have diabetes, it’s very important to make sure that you
control your blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol. You can also do more physical activity, eat a healthy, balanced diet, control your weight and
body shape, and give up smoking.
If you don’t have diabetes, you can greatly reduce your risk of
developing it by controlling your weight and doing
regular physical activity.