Cholesterol

August 06, 2008 -- ROCHESTER, Minn. — Cholesterol, both good and bad, gets plenty of attention when the subject is reducing the risk of heart disease. Yet triglycerides, a form of fat that circulates in the blood, merit similar attention, according to the August issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter.

Some studies suggest that the increase in heart disease risk from elevated triglycerides may rival that of high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad" cholesterol. Another concern is that high triglyceride levels increase the risk of pancreatitis, a painful, life-threatening inflammation of the pancreas.    » read more »

March 18, 2008 -- Jefferson City, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon was joined by 17 other states and the District of Columbia today in filing a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies Abbott Laboratories and Fournier. The lawsuit alleges that the companies conspired to violate antitrust laws in delaying the availability of a cheaper, generic version of the cholesterol drug TriCor. TriCor accounted for over one billion dollars in sales for Abbott one year ago.    » read more »

BALTIMORE, MD (March 18, 2008) - Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler today filed suit against Abbott Laboratories and French drug company Fournier Industrie et Sante alleging that the firms violated state and federal antitrust laws by delaying the availability of cheaper, generic versions of TriCor, a cholesterol drug which last year accounted for over one billion dollars of Abbott’s sales.    » read more »

Abbott and French drug company face allegations they blocked generic versions of a cholesterol drug

March 18, 2008 -- TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that Florida and 18 states have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories and French drug company Fournier Industrie et Sante and Laboratories Fournier, S.A., charging the companies with blocking a cheaper, generic version of prescription drug TriCor.    » read more »

Public Citizen Testifies About Dangers of Mevacor

Dec. 13, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Making the cholesterol medicine Mevacor available over the counter could lead to widespread and possibly dangerous, inappropriate use of the drug, a fear backed up by the maker’s own data, Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the Health Research Group at Public Citizen, told federal regulators Thursday.    » read more »

American Heart Association rapid access journal report

DALLAS, Aug. 14 — Regularly counseling families and children about diets low in saturated fats effectively reduces blood cholesterol levels in children up to age 14 without affecting normal physical development, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.    » read more »