Recent Episodes
A New Lipid Test for Heart Disease
Even though we use cholesterol numbers to check for heart health, there may be something better. Researchers are studying ceramides. Cholesterol and ceramides are both types of lipids or fats in our cells and tissues and are essential for good health. But when there's too much of them in our blood, they cause atherosclerosis, a hardening of the arteries, and heart disease. One reason to look for a different lipid other than cholesterol is that it's not high in 15 percent of people with heart disease.
Inside our cells are 200 variations of ceramides which play a role in skin health, the self-destruction of cancer cells, and the recycling of molecules in our cells. But studies show high levels of ceramides in heart disease, diabetes, obesity, heart failure, stroke, and fatty liver disease.
Like cholesterol, ceramides attach to the linings of blood vessels and can contribute to the onset of insulin resistance seen in type two diabetes. When experimental drugs were used to reduce ceramide levels in mice, they were protected from heart failure and insulin sensitivity improved.
Excess fat in our diet can lead to high levels of ceramide, and studies on one hundred patients show they could be good predictors of heart disease. However, tests for ceramides are expensive which is a barrier, but what's more important is whether lowering this lipid does improve the outcome of several major chronic diseases.
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More Information
Ceramide testing helps shape individualized heart health treatment plan
For much of his life, Mark Kocak kept in great shape, lifting weights, doing aerobics and yoga, all while being an avid runner. But as he approached his 60s, Mark found himself dealing with high LDL (or "bad") cholesterol. His primary care doctor recommended he go on a statin, but Mark refused, until one day, "I felt a little weird and thought maybe I was having a heart attack," Mark says. Though the episode was a false alarm, it served as a wake-up call for Mark...
Ceramides as Risk Markers for Future Cardiovascular Events and All-Cause Mortality in Long-standing Type 1 Diabetes
The number of people living with type 1 diabetes is rising, and estimates foresee further increase in the coming years. Two major complications are cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease. Identification of biomarkers that stratify those at highest risk for these complications would allow early intervention with optimization of risk factors and potentially organ protective therapies...
Straight from the Heart
Lipids called ceramides may be better predictors of cardiovascular problems than cholesterol. Doctors and pharma are waking up to their potential...
