Science News

... from universities, journals, and other research organizations

'Healthy' Sterols May Pose Health Risk

July 16, 2008 — Plant sterols have been touted as an effective way to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. However, a research study in the July JLR has uncovered that these compounds do have their own risks, as they can accumulate in heart valves and lead to stenosis.


Share This:

Aortic valve stenosis (AS) results from cholesterol accumulation in the valve between the left ventricle and aorta; this impedes the flow of blood and puts extra pressure on the heart. About 2% of individuals over 65 (and over 5% of those over 85) have AS, and as the population ages, it is becoming an increasing problem.

Plant sterols can block the absorption of dietary cholesterol into the body, and as such high vegetable diets and/or plant sterol supplements are often used to alleviate high cholesterol. However, although plant sterols themselves are poorly absorbed, they can enter the body, so Satu Helske and colleagues examined whether plant sterols can also accumulate in aortic valves.

They collected blood samples from 82 patients with severe AS and aortic valves from 21 individuals undergoing valve surgery, along with respective controls. They observed that non-cholesterol sterols, including plant sterols, can accumulate in aortic valves, and at levels that directly related to their blood concentration.

These findings suggest that beneficial plant sterols may end up becoming a risk factor for AS, although the researchers will need to conduct more studies, such as whether dietary sterols and sterol supplements produce different effects.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

|

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Satu Helske, Tatu Miettinen, Helena Gylling, Mikko Mäyränpää, Jyri Lommi, Heikki Turto, Kalervo Werkkala, Markku Kupari and Petri T. Kovanen. Accumulation of cholesterol precursors and plant sterols in human stenoticaortic valves. Journal of Lipid Research, (in press) [link]
APA

MLA

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Search ScienceDaily

Number of stories in archives: 138,581

Find with keyword(s):
 
Enter a keyword or phrase to search ScienceDaily's archives for related news topics,
the latest news stories, reference articles, science videos, images, and books.

Recommend ScienceDaily on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing services:

|

 
Interested in ad-free access? If you'd like to read ScienceDaily without ads, let us know!
  more breaking science news

Social Networks


Follow ScienceDaily on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google:

Recommend ScienceDaily on Facebook, Twitter, and Google +1:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

|

Breaking News

... from NewsDaily.com

  • more science news

In Other News ...

  • more top news

Science Video News


Mini Fetal Monitor Saves Lives

High risk pregnancy specialists designed a fetal monitoring device that tracks a baby's position and movement in the womb, as well as baby and mother. ...  > full story

Strange Science News

 

Free Subscriptions

... from ScienceDaily

Get the latest science news with our free email newsletters, updated daily and weekly. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader:

Feedback

... we want to hear from you!

Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Have any problems using the site? Questions?

Post this page to your favorite social bookmarking site:
Include this item in your blog or web site:
Cite this article in your essay, paper, or report:
Email this page's link to a friend or colleague: