Canadian researchers discover cause of high cholesterol

Getty Images/Rick Gershon

A mans finger is pricked to test his cholesterol at the City of Newark's free homeless health fair at the Department of Child and Family Well-Being on August 13, 2009 in Newark, New Jersey.

The breakthrough discovery of a protein that causes high cholesterol could lead to new revolutionary drugs that cut the risk of heart disease, according to a study presented at the 2012 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress.

Dr. Shirya Rashid and her research team discovered that a protein called resistin, which is secreted by fat tissue, causes high levels of bad cholesterol, or LDL (low-density lipoprotein). Resistin increases the production of LDL and impairs LDL receptors in the liver, making it more difficult for the liver to clear bad cholesterol from the body. It also likely speeds up the rate at which LDL accumulates in the arteries, boosting the risk of heart disease.

The discovery is an important finding because there have been very few factors or proteins identified that directly affects blood LDL cholesterol levels, said Rashid, an assistant professor of medicine at McMaster University.

Source: Metro News 

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