Lowering Phosphate Intake In Humans Can Reduce Heart Disease, According To Research By Experts At The University Of Sheffield.
This is the first time the connection between a high phosphate diet and atherosclerosis - the cause of heart disease - has been proven. The findings have been published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (2 June 2011). The research, which was funded by the Sheffield Kidney Association and the National Institute for Health Research, has shown that cholesterol deposits in the wall of arteries are increased following a higher phosphate diet. This leads to narrowing of the arteries, which is the cause of most heart attacks and strokes.
Circulating Levels Of A Lung Protein Found To Be 'Strongly Predictive' Of Cardiovascular Disease
A blood protein known as surfactant protein-D (SP-D), which is mainly synthesised in the lungs, has been described as "a good predictor" of cardiovascular disease following a large study in North America. Reporting the study online in the European Heart Journal, the investigators said that circulating SP-D levels were clearly associated with CVD and total mortality in patients with angiographically diagnosed coronary artery disease independent of other well established risk factors (such as age, smoking, cholesterol and C-reactive protein levels).
FDA: Treatment With Angiotensin Receptor Blockers For High Blood Pressure Does Not Increase Risk Of Cancer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that a group of medications used to control high blood pressure, called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), do not increase the risk of developing cancer in patients using the medications. In July 2010, the FDA reported that a safety review of ARBs would be performed after a published study found a small increased risk of cancer in patients taking an ARB compared to those patients not taking an ARB. For this safety review, the FDA evaluated 31 randomized clinical trials, comparing patients taking an ARB to patients not taking an ARB, looking for the incidence of cancer.