The good, the bad – and now the ugly cholesterol

First there was ‘bad’ cholesterol (which wasn’t bad after all, but still launched the mega-billion dollar statin drug market)-and now there is ugly cholesterol.
Ugly cholesterol is the real bad guy of the blood fats, say researchers from the Copenhagen University Hospital, who have suddenly discovered it after studying the health of around 73,000 patients.
They reckon it’s the real cause of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which can lead to heart disease, and high levels of the ugly kind can triple the risk.
Astonishingly for a process that has never been witnessed before, the Copenhagen researchers reckon that one in five of people living in affluent countries have high levels of ugly cholesterol in their blood.
Although statin drugs may help cope with the ugly cholesterol, the researchers hope that “the pharmaceutical industry will develop new drugs targeted specifically at raised ugly cholesterol levels.”
Don’t worry, they will.
(Source: Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2013; 61: 427-36).

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