The immune system protects us from billions of bacteria, viruses, and other parasites with ease. We do not have to reflect upon the fact that while we converse with our friends, watch TV, or go to work, inside our bodies, our immune system is constantly on the alert, attacking at the first sign of an invasion by harmful organisms.      The immune system is very complex.

     Scientists at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Davis, Medical Center in Sacramento state that obesity predisposes you to an increased incidence of diabetes and CVD. Also, obesity is a pro-inflammatory state. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are essential for regulating inflammation and are down-regulated (inhibited from acting) in pro-inflammatory states.

     Researchers at the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania tested the tolerability of Red Yeast Rice (2,400 mg twice daily) versus the statin drug pravastatin (20 mg twice daily) in patients with previous statin intolerance.      Currently, no consensus has been reached regarding the management of hyperlipidemia in patients who develop statin-associated myalgia (SAM; muscle pain and inflammation). Many statin-intolerant patients use alternative lipid-lowering therapies, including Red Yeast Rice.

     Henry Ford Neuroscience Institute scientific director Michael Chopp, PhD, recently presented his discovery of a protective effect conferred by vitamin B3, or niacin, on neurologic function following a stroke. Niacin is commonly recommended for people with high serum cholesterol that is associated with cardiovascular disease. The ability of Niacin to increase high density lipoprotein (HDL), a protective form of cholesterol, helps lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.

     Researchers at the Department of Pediatrics, University of Turin in Italy state that to prevent cardiovascular disease which occurs with blood fat disorders, it is required to treat the condition from childhood. The aim of this study was to evaluate, in a group of children affected by primary dyslipidemia, the efficacy, tolerability and safety of a short-term treatment with a dietary supplement containing Red Yeast Rice Extract and Policosanol.      40 children affected by heterozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) or Familial Combined Hyperlipidemia (FCH), aged 8-16 years, were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial.