VALENCIA COMPANY TRACKS CHOLESTEROL TEST PROGRAM GIVES FASTER RESULTS.Byline: ALEX DOBUZINSKIS Staff Writer VALENCIA -- In the balance between good and bad cholesterol bad cholesterol LDL-cholesterol Cardiovascular disease Cholesterol transported in the circulation by low-density lipoprotein, the elevation of which is directly related to the risk of CAD and cholesterol-related morbidity See LDL-cholesterol. Cf Good cholesterol. , a panel of tests could help doctors pinpoint potential problems for heart patients. Valencia-based Specialty Laboratories collaborated with a Phoenix company and a handful of doctors to create the CardioEvaluatR testing program. The program provides results quicker than others, said Ron Blum, vice president of marketing for Specialty Laboratories. Doctors describe high-density lipoprotein high-density lipoprotein n. Abbr. HDL A lipoprotein that contains relatively small amounts of cholesterol and triglycerides and is associated with a decreased risk of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. , or HDL (Hardware Description Language) A language used to describe the functions of an electronic circuit for documentation, simulation or logic synthesis (or all three). Although many proprietary HDLs have been developed, Verilog and VHDL are the major standards. , as good cholesterol 'good' cholesterol A popular term for HDL-cholesterol, see there. Cf 'Bad' cholesterol. , and low-density lipoprotein, or LDL LDL - ["LDL: A Logic-Based Data-Language", S. Tsur et al, Proc VLDB 1986, Kyoto Japan, Aug 1986, pp.33-41]. , as bad cholesterol. They say it's important to get more detailed information on both in a patient's body. "The total cholesterol really doesn't give us much information about an individual at all, as far as what his risks are," said Dr. Arthur Agatston, a cardiologist and the creator of the South Beach Diet. Agatston worked on CardioEvaluatR as a consultant for Molecular Profiling Institute Inc., the company that collaborated with Specialty. The CardioEvaluatR is a panel of tests that gives quick results breaking down different types of HDL and LDL, triglycerides Triglycerides Fatty compounds synthesized from carbohydrates during the process of digestion and stored in the body's adipose (fat) tissues. High levels of triglycerides in the blood are associated with insulin resistance. , insulin levels and more. While the results of some testing programs are not available for several weeks, CardioEvaluatR results are available within five days, Blum said. "It's faster, very accurate and has a whole group of experts that are really backing the panel," Blum said. Those include Dr. P.K. Shah, director of the cardiology division at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a world-renowned hospital located in Los Angeles, California. History Cedars-Sinai is the result of a merger in 1961 between two major Los Angeles hospitals, Cedars of Lebanon and Mount Sinai Home for the Incurables, with Steve Broidy as . Specialty Laboratories, which has 700 employees, will receive blood samples from patients and conduct all the testing at its Valencia facility. In the future, other labs could use the testing program, Blum said. Agatston is excited about the prospect of more genetic evaluations being included in the program. "I suspect in the fairly near future, ... it's going to add a completely new dimension to how we treat heart disease." Molecular Profiling is incorporating genetic discoveries from the Human Genome Project. alex.dobuzinskis@dailynews.com (661) 257-5253 |
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