There may be a link between allergies and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in adults, says a study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. IBS occurs in about 15 percent of the U.S. population. Some studies have suggested that allergen exposure may lead to IBS symptoms in some patients, but the frequency hadn't been examined. In this study, researchers looked at 125 adults and found the likelihood of IBS was much higher in patients with allergic eczema (3.85 times) and seasonal allergic rhinitis (2.67) times. They also found that IBS was 2.56 times more likely in people with depression. The researchers also found that asthma and IBS were reported by 12 of 41 patients (29 percent), similar to findings in a previous study. The researchers proposed that "this subgroup of IBS (atopic IBS) be considered separately from patients with IBS without atopic symptoms, because they may have distinct pathophysiologic features and may benefit from specific therapeutic interventions." 

Although HDL cholesterol is typically thought of as 'good' cholesterol, a new of data from a large study suggests that at very high levels, it may actually increase the risk of coronary artery disease. On the other hand, apolipoprotein A-I or apoA-I -- which like HDL cholesterol has been linked to a reduced heart disease risk -- continues to show this association at very high levels, according to the report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. To gauge the impact of very high levels of HDL cholesterol and apoA-I on cardiovascular risk, the researcher from the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues analyzed data from the so-called IDEAL study. IDEAL, which included 8888 patients, assessed the benefits of high-dose statin therapy for preventing the recurrence of cardiovascular events.  In IDEAL, very high levels of HDL cholesterol were tied to an increased risk of a major coronary event, the researchers found. After making adjustment for levels of apoA-I and other factors, each 12-point increase in HDL cholesterol raised the risk by 21 percent.  A persistently negative association was noted between apoA-I levels and the risk of a major coronary event, the researchers report. In an editorial, a researcher from McGill University in Montreal, points out some of the implications of the apparent link between very high levels of HDL cholesterol and elevated cardiovascular risk. "First, naturally occurring high levels of HDL cholesterol may not protect against heart disease, and second, and herein lies the most important and provocative finding, HDL cholesterol as a therapeutic goal may be fraught with potential dangers."

A novel drug designed to lessen muscle damage from a heart attack has passed initial safety tests at the Duke Clinical Research Institute. The drug, known as KAI-9803, blocks the activity of an enzyme called delta protein kinase C that triggers cell and tissue death in the aftermath of percutaneous coronary intervention, or PCI. PCI is a set of procedures including balloon angioplasty and stent placement that clear and prop open clogged coronary blood vessels that lead to a heart attack – a process known as reperfusion.  Although the trial (known as DELTA-MI) was not designed to demonstrate the efficacy of KAI-9803, researchers say early data suggest it appears to be a promising compound. The researcher says many people may not realize that the heart suffers damage at two major points in a heart attack: first, when a blockage in a coronary artery prevents blood and oxygen from getting to the heart, and then again when the patient undergoes PCI and normal blood flow is restored through reperfusion. The doctors may not be able to intervene in the first stage of a heart attack, but there may be ways to limit damage caused by reperfusion injury, the researcher added. Researchers randomized 154 patients who had suffered heart attacks and were eligible for PCI into either one of four dosing levels of KAI-9803 or a placebo. Patients underwent PCI – with physicians injecting the drug directly into their coronary blood vessels during the procedure. “The goal of the treatment is to flood the heart damaged by the heart attack with the drug immediately before blood flow is restored and then again, immediately afterwards,” the researcher says. The scientists believe that bathing the area with this novel compound may block the damaging cascade of events that are triggered specifically by delta protein kinase C when blood is restored to the heart muscle.