Ever wonder about HDL reverse cholesterol transport and how it works to reduce plaque. Now, this is a pure commercial play by the drug giant Merck and normally I would not pass it on, but they have put together a pretty cool animation about the mechanism by which HDL removes cholesterol from artery walls. Here is the link http://www.totallipids.com/total_lipids/totallipids/mechanism_of_action/index.jsp
They also have an amimation that explains why we sometimes get that nasty flushed feeling when we take niacin. Do ya think they spent all this money on the cool animations out of the kindness of their hearts? Or, do ya think that maybe they are setting us up for some new presciption drug that raises HDL without the flushing side effect?
Hmmmm, I wonder - NOT!
HeartHawk
Friday, November 30, 2007
OK, This is Too Cool To Miss!
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4 comments:
It's called anacetrapib. Recent Phase II trial showed that it increased HDL up to 139% when taken in conjunction with atorvastatin. Probably still years away from the market but at least - and unlike Pfizer's CETP drug - it doesn't seem to raise blood pressure.
Bingo, that's the one! I had pinned high hopes on torcetrapib as low HDL is one of my lipid problems. I am glad that they didn't throw the baby out with the bathwater on CETP agents when torcetrapib tanked!
Regards,
HH
Low HDL? I assume that you have done all the TYP recommendations. I started about 2 months ago on 1 gram Slo-Niacin and my HDL increased from 67 to 90 with an increase in HDL-2 from 17 to 28. (I had thought 67 was a good number but Dr. Davis suggested that too much of that number consisted of HDL-3.) I feel that the combination of exercise, statin, fish oil, Vitamin D3 and niacin seem to have exerted a positive influence. But you know all that stuff already....
Anon:
Both you and Davis are right on the money. When I started TYP my HDL was 30 and now it is about 55. I want to exceed the standard TYP goals of 60/60/60 because my liporpotein(a) is still high (despite 3000mg Niaspan daily). My LDL and triglycerides are sub-60 and my particle number is sub-600. Now I want to improve my reverse cholesterol transport by taking my HDL as high as I can.
Lp(a) is a real nasty particle and my repeat heart scans still fluctuate between 0% to 20% progression. I'm hoping to overpower the Lp(a).
Regards,
HH
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