Medical News Summary: MBL protein level linked to heart attack risk in diabetics

About: MBL protein level linked to heart attack risk in diabetics
Date: 10 January 2005
Source: Reuters Health
Medical News Summary (summary of medical news story as reported by Reuters Health): Researchers in Iceland claim to have found that high levels of the protein MBL (mannan binding lectin) cause scavenger cells to get rid of inflammatory agents and hence reduce the risk of heart attack. This effect is highlighted in diabetics. In the study involving 20,000 subjects, it was found that a high MBL level could reduce the risk of heart attack by 36% compared to a low MBL level. However, in a smaller follow-up study this association was only found to be significant in diabetics or subjects with high cholesterol. Furthermore, diabetics with high MBL had the same heart attack risk as a person without diabetes. Thus, MBL measurement may be useful in determine level of preventative treatment needed for diabetics.
URL: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=7283576
Related Disease Topics: Diabetes, Heart attack, High cholesterol

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Related Medical News Channels: This medical news summary article refers to the following medical channel categories:

• Type 1 diabetes
• Type 2 diabetes
• Research
• research and diabetes
• research and heart attack
• research and high cholesterol
• risk and diabetes
• risk and heart attack
• risk and high cholesterol
• cause of heart attack
• Research and MBL level
• Diagnosis
• Diagnosis and heart attack
• Diagnosis and high cholesterol
• Diagnosis and diabetes

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