Super-Sticky 'Ultra-Bad' Cholesterol Revealed in People at High Risk of Heart Disease
Date: 30.5.2011
Scientists from the University of Warwick have discovered why a newly found form of cholesterol seems to be 'ultra-bad', leading to increased risk of heart disease. The discovery could lead to new treatments to prevent heart disease particularly in people with type 2 diabetes and the elderly.
The research, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), found that 'ultra-bad' cholesterol, called MGmin-low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is more common in people with type 2 diabetes and the elderly, appears to be 'stickier' than normal LDL. This makes it more likely to attach to the walls of arteries. When LDL attaches to artery walls it helps form the dangerous 'fatty' plaques' that cause coronary heart disease (CHD).
They found that MGmin-LDL is created by the addition of sugar groups to 'normal' LDL -- a process called glycation -- making LDL smaller and denser.
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